A Christmas Gift
by sapphire blue-ruby red roses
Summary: It's close to Christmas when Naru takes on a rather peculiar case where people who have any romantic feelings towards each other are being haunted. What will happen when the team is cast into rolls from the ghost's favorite play about mixed-up love? EDITED!
1. Chapter 1: A Case in America

**Here's the first chapter of my Christmas story. I really hope you guys like and enjoy it, and I hope to get the end to you by Christmas. I'm hoping it'll be short, but fun.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 1: A Case in America

"Hey Naru, guess what Sunday is?" I chirped, bouncing up and down in front of Naru who was lounging in a chair. No clients had come in all day and we were simply bored out of our minds.

"What's that?" he asked uninterestedly, the boredom obvious in his voice.

"Christmas!" I shouted throwing up my arms in excitement and grinning like a fool.

"Yay," he retorted sarcastically switching his legs and taking a sip of tea, "Now go do some work and stop wasting my time."

I rolled my eyes. Flipping my skirt tail at him, I sauntered over to my desk acting like those preppy girls at my school. "Well, like, it's totally no fun if I've already finished it all," I said, sucking my teeth before switching back. I really did not like the way I just sounded. "Come on, we've got a client coming in a few minutes. Play along like you're a normal person please."

He sighed. He snapped his book shut, setting it aside before look up at me. "Fine, what are you doing on Christmas day?" he asked, tenting his fingers and watching me.

I grinned and plopped down on the couch across from him. "Well, if you don't pick up this case then I plan on going out with my friends that day around noon, but in the morning I'm going to be here to annoy you and in the afternoon I'll be with the rest of the gang," I explained happily.

"Don't you have a boyfriend to go out with?" he asked leaning back in his chair with an almost pleased expression. The funny thing was that I didn't think he knew he was wearing it.

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. "It's not worth it. All the guys at my school are either dicks or not worth talking to."

Naru almost grinned. "Don't you have guys that are friends?"

I grinned. "'Course I do," I told him.

"Then why not one of them?"

I laughed, "'Cause they're all dicks."

"Hey language, and what about me? Aren't I one of your guy friends?" Yasu asked from the doorway. He held the door open letting the snow fly in on a flurry of wind. It froze the tip of my nose.

I shivered, huddling in on myself. "You're not if you keep holding that door open," I threatened sneezing.

"Is there a reason you are here Yasu?" Naru asked, flipping his book open again. The blank mask was back in place faster than I could blink. "If you don't have any business here, then leave."

"Actually, I do. Mai, can I talk to you?" he asked motion towards the kitchen.

Naru's eyes narrowed at the page he was reading as I jumped up. "Sure," I said, "Naru needs more tea anyway. You darn tea addict." Naru only glanced up at me before glaring back down at his page again. His eyes weren't moving.

We traipsed into the kitchen. It was only after I had set the kettle on to boil that Yasu started to talk. "So, I know you're probably going to go out with the team and your friends on Christmas, but I was wondering if you would make time to go on…" Yasu started to stammer when a jingle came from the front room.

"Hold that thought Yasu," I said, hurrying out of the kitchen to find a foreigner standing in front of the door. She had the looks of a teenager, but held herself like an adult. She wore a pair of blue boot cut jeans on. A light blue blouse fit snuggly against her slender body with a dark leather jacket over the blouse. Naru was nowhere to be seen. He must have shut himself back in his office.

"Hello, may I help you?" I asked with a bright smile.

"Hi, I'm here to meet with Mr. Shibuya," she said with a bright smile of her own. Her accent was much different from John's, but she held that same formality that John used to have when he first came to Japan. Her voice held an accent that could only come from speaking English on a daily basis.

I smiled back. "Of course, please take a seat and he'll be with you in just a moment."

"Thank you," she said bowing before slowly walking over to the couches. Her high heeled boots clicked quietly against the floor.

I watched her for a little bit before walking quickly over to Naru's door. I knocked on it quietly waiting for Naru's response to come it. The moment I shut the door I broke down laughing.

"Mai, stop messing around," Naru ordered rubbing his forehead like he had a headache.

"I-I'm sorry," I giggled out pressing my hand hard over my mouth and sliding down his door to sit on his floor, "It's just that her speech is so formal and her accent is so thick. It's hilarious."

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a sigh, obviously having little patients at the moment.

"Oh, there's a client. I think she might be Australian, American, or British," I asked after a deep breath. I calmed down enough to would only giggle every other second.

Naru stood up and strode over to me. He stuck out his hand to me, pulling me up as if I weighed nothing and stepped into the main room of the office. Without another word he sat down across from the woman. "Mai, tea."

"Yes sir," I said with a salute, bustling off to catch the screaming tea kettle, "Oh wait, miss, would you like coffee or tea or water?" I stuck my head out of the kitchen door.

"Coffee please, if you have any. Black is fine," she answered, glancing over her shoulder with a small smile.

"Of course," I said, ducking back into the kitchen. Yasu still stood there with his arms crossed, leaning against the counter. He wore a contemplative expression. I grabbed five tea cups from the cabinet, placed them on the tray, and put water and instant coffee into one cup. I quickly dumped tea leaves in the kettle. "Yasu, do you want tea?"

He turned to me with a grin. "Sure," he said, moving back into the main room.

I poured the tea into the cups, and followed him. I set the tray down on the table, handing the cups out. "Here you go," I told the woman, holding out a cup.

"Thank you," she said in English, taking the cup and a sip. She turned back to Naru with the intent to answer a question she'd just been asked. "My name is Jessica Williams. Yes, I am a foreigner. I live in America and just came to Japan to get your assistance."

I was so proud of myself for understanding what she had said that I almost missed Naru speaking in English. "Why do you believe your home is haunted?" he asked. He had a strong British accent that once again made me wonder where he'd been raised.

"I live up in the hills. I know that's not a rare place for people to believe they're being haunted, but we're different. We just moved into the house about a year ago. We've had many people live there with us, but they usually leave because they get freaked out. Doors and windows always open and close by themselves, things get completely rearrange while we're out. All of us have had some kind of experience, seeing an apparition, getting locked in a closet when no one is around, hearing music playing when no one can play an instrument, you name it," she explained, sighing in exasperation at the length of the list, "The oddest thing is that if two people have any romantic feelings for each other they'll go through many situations. They only stopped being haunted when they finally get together or leave the house all together."

Naru was quiet for a long time. When Lin finally stopped tapping away at his keyboard, Naru made his decision. "We'll take the case," he said in Japanese, probably from Yasu and me. Yasu was looking lost. Languages were definitely not his strong suite even if he was amazingly smart.

"That's great," the girl chirped in English, "How many tickets will you need? We can only support up to nine people. I need the extra ticket to get myself back tonight. We can handle transport of your things too. We have something set up already."

"Nine," Naru replied, "We will have out equipment ready in an hour. When does the plane leave?"

"Midnight. I'll be back with the truck to take your equipment to the moving company in an hour's time. It should arrive at the house before we even touch down," she said in Japanese this time with a smile, "Thank you so much for taking our case so close to Christmas." She bowed quickly before hustling out the door. We could hear her give a loud whoop once the door as shut.

"Mai," Naru said.

"Yes?" I asked, gathering up the cups on the tray.

"Call the others. Tell them to pack for at least a week and to bring their passports. If they forget them, then they're not coming on this case. They need to be here before ten," he ordered, "Yasu, start get getting the equipment together."

"Yes sir!" both Yasu and I cried, saluting him until he disappeared into a back room that housed the equipment. Lin retreated to his office to gather the computers and monitors.

"Time to get workin'," I sang, bumping Yasu's hip with my own as I headed for the kitchen.

**There you have it the first chapter of this story. The other story that I'm working on right now "What will you do?" is going to be postponed until this is finished which I hope will be Christmas. Anyway, hope you like it so far and review please :D**


	2. Chapter 2: In the States

**The second chapter! I hope you all appreciate the mucho NaruxMai fluffy goodness I have in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not enjoy Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 2: In the States

"Where the hell are we? My neck is killing me and I want to get out of this mess," Ayako griped, staring around at all the food stands and people winding between each other to get to their destination.

I stared sullenly at the opposite wall, in a surly mood from not getting any sleep on the way over. I didn't want to sleep just in case I had one of my dreams on the way over. "I don't know, why don't you ask?" I grumbled.

"I would if I knew how to freaking speak English," she growled at me, gripping the handle of her oversized suitcase so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

"Maybe you should have paid more attention in English class when you were still in school. Oh wait, that must have been decades ago," Masako quipped, turning up her nose to Ayako who had just turned on her. She didn't seem to appreciate the fact that barely anyone recognized her here.

"Yeah, you're such an old broad that I'm surprised that you can remember anything from when you were in school," Monk added earning himself a slap upside the head with a very full purse.

Naru just seemed to be enjoying this. Even though he could probably get us out of this mess in a heartbeat he just watched the squabbling with weary eyes. Lin could do the same, but he was quietly talking on the phone, uninterested with what was going on around him.

I sighed, stretching my arms over my head. I squeaked as someone bumped into me, pushing me into Naru.

"Sorry," the person called over the shoulder, but I was more concerned with the fact that I was face to face with Naru. My hands were on his shoulders and his arms were tight around my waist, holding me against him.

"Be more careful, idiot. You're going to get yourself hurt," he reprimanded, letting go of my waist, but keeping his hand on the small of my back.

My mind was just catching up to what had happened when I heard a familiar male voice calling me over the noise of the crowd. "Mai, is that you? Holy crap, it is! Mai! Mai! Over here!" the voice screamed. I perked up, looking around for the source of the commotion. My hands were still on Naru's chest when I spotted the frantically figure. It was a boy with dark blonde hair and even from here his piercing eyes were unmistakably electric green.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and then gasped. "Damien!" I shouted, taking off at a sprint. I weaved in and out of people like a pro, slamming into the boy hard, "It is so good to see you again! How are you?"

"I'll be fine once I can finally breathe again," he teased, hugging me back, "What are you doing in the States? Wait, let me see you first." He pulled back from the hug, holding me at arm's length. He gave me a once over, taking in all the details from my over-used black slip-ons to my short chocolate brown hair. He pulled on a strand of my hair. "You cut your hair. I liked it long," he complained.

"It's longer than it was a year ago," I laughed running a hand through my now shoulder length brown hair.

"Don't tell me that, it'll just make me depressed," he said, dropping his head dramatically, "So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for a case," I told him ignoring the shouts from the team. They were fighting a losing battle against a new wave of passengers. Naru was the closest out of everyone.

"That's so cool. I'm actually here to pick up my roommate, but I can't seem to find her. Are you waiting for someone?" he asked scanning the crowd.

"Yeah, our client. She was supposed to take up to a car that was going to be waiting for us, but we lost her back when we were debarking," I explained with a sign, standing on tip toes to see if I could see her. No such luck. I was just too short.

Naru came up beside me, glaring at me. "Don't run off. Didn't I just tell you to be more careful," he asked, his voice giving away some of his anger even though he was usually the ice cube.

"Sorry Naru, but I saw my friend and I just couldn't stop myself. I haven't seen him in so long," I explained refusing to acknowledge his glare.

Damien looked Naru up and down, deciding on who this was. "You must be Shibuya Kazuya. My name is Damien Nyquest, or I guess it would be Nyquest Damien. Mai's told me all about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said smiling and sticking out his hand.

Naru grasped his hand for a few seconds before letting go. "How do you know Mai?" he asked.

"A couple years ago while Mai was just getting into middle school I was a transfer student at her school for a year. We became really good friends. Even though I've graduated school I still love talking to my little junior," he said ending in a coo and the mussing of my hair.

"Ah! Stop treating me like a kid Damien!" I cried trying to flatten my crazy hair.

Damien laughed. "You look like ragamuffin."

"Shut up!" I shouted, punching him in the stomach, "You know how long it took me to get it this soft and flat? The whole plane ride! You own me a long hair brushing session."

He was still laughing as he bent over in pain. "Okay, okay, just don't hit me again," he groaned out, grinning up at me.

The team had finally caught up with us, dragging their luggage and my one small suitcase behind them. Ayako was just opening her mouth to yell at me when another voice caught all of our attention, even Damien's. It was the voice we'd all been waiting for.

"Hey guys, over here!" Jessica yelled from over by the automatic doors, "I think my cabby is already waiting for us!"

"I am not your damn cabby woman!" Damien shouted at her, standing up straight.

"Finally, we were worried we'd have to walk there!" I called to her.

Damien and I looked at each other in surprise before wide grins split across both our faces. Without even needing to say a word, we slapped our hands together. "Yes! The team is back together!" we shouted in unison.

…..

The ride to the house was long, boring and cramped. The eleven of us were stuffed into a van meant to hold only nine for four very long hours. It felt like we were sardine. Masako and I, being the smallest of everyone, had been elected to sit on someone.

So here was how the seating arrangements went.

Up front was Damien who was driving, John in the middle and Jessica taking the window seat. In the middle was Yasu on the driver's side with Masako sitting on his lap, Ayako in the middle, and Monk claiming the passenger's side window. In the very back was Lin on the driver's side, Madoka in the middle, and finally Naru on the passenger's side with me on his lap. I have no idea how Naru ended up being my car seat, but I think a lost match of rock, paper, scissors was to blame.

I fell asleep sometime on the way out of San Francisco heading for an itty bitty town up in the foothills outside of a city called Yuba City. Jessica kindly referred to the city as a hole. I didn't know if she was kidding or not, and was determined never to find out.

_I was walking through a large field behind a house. The house wasn't huge, just a medium-large two story. From what I could tell from back here it either had very large bedrooms or more than four small ones._

_I turned away from the house, tromping through the tall, crispy brown grass towards a hill. The grass poked up through my dress, poking my legs. In the distance, I could see a huge cluster or rocks creating a ledge. Farther down the hill, closer to me was a large maple. Its leaves were a deep green and its shade currently housed a slumped over figure. The person looked as if they were asleep._

_Padding over to the person, I crouched down in front of them. I stared for a long time. He was so beautiful I could just stare at him all day. Finally, a grin split across my face as I said, "David, it's time to wake up."_

_The boy stirred, groaning. He arched his back, stretching before opening his eyes. "Hey Stef, what are you doing out here?"_

"_Looking for you," I answered, flicking his nose._

"_Oh how sweet, thank you so much. I was just about to take a hike, want to tag along?" he asked, motioning with his head to the hill behind him._

_I grinned. "'Course I would. Have you even known me to turn down such an offer?"_

_He grinned back. "Never." With that we got up. I don't know what happened after that because the scene began changing rapidly._

_I was watching David across the cafeteria at school. He was eating with his girlfriend. Then I was in the orchards picking fruit. He stood below me, catching the peaches I dropped down to him. Then we were at the lake with friends and family. We were splashing water in each other's faces. The scenes flashed by at warp speed._

_The scenes came to a lurching halt on one. Fire rained down on me. It cornered me offering no escape._

I woke with a gasp, staring out at the already darkening afternoon sky. In another hour and a half, it would be night again. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, glancing around the car. Everyone was asleep except for Damien who was singing quietly along to some American country song.

Something was pressing into my stomach and another was weighing down my shoulder. What, or maybe better, who I found was almost as shocking as finding out my friend was pregnant.

Naru's head was rested on my shoulder, his cheek acting as his pillow against my shoulder. His arms were wrapped securely around my waist again, pulling me flush against him. He must have fell sleep like that after everyone else had passed out. Most of everyone was using each other as pillows. Even John and Jessica were using each other as pillows.

Up front, Damien yawned loudly. "Ugh, only twenty more minutes. I'll finally be able to go back to sleep," he mumbled, taking a sip of an energy drink and making a disgusted sound.

I pursed my lips. There was only twenty minutes left. I had the choice of going back to sleep and enjoying Naru's warmth for a little longer or staying awake and risking waking him up. I picked the first choice. I let my eyes shut slowly and let myself slip back into sleep.

**Here's the second chapter, right after the first. I need to get another two up today so expect to at least get to chapter four. If I don't then I'll do twenty push-ups, how does that sound? Hope you liked this chapter and review please :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Shared Emotions

**Hope you like this chapter. Next one should start up with the ghosty and should have some more NaruxMai fluffiness, their situations should start very soon**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 3: Shared Emotions

"We're here!" Jessica cried excitedly, jumping from the car so fast that John nearly fell out. With a cry, he caught himself on the door jam. Damien got out at a more sane pace.

The rest of us jerked awake, staring around dazedly. I was snuggled up against Naru's chest. My cheek was resting on his shoulder and I had my arms strung around him. His head was resting on mine and his arms were still wrapped around my waist. A deep red blush was heating my face.

He stared down at me for a long moment before quickly retracting his arms. He stared off out the window. It might have been the light, but it looked to me like he could be blushing. Was that even possible for Naru?

"Wakey, wakey everyone! We're finally here!" Damien shouted, stretching his arms above his head.

"Finally," Masako growled, throwing the car door open. The moment her foot touched the ground she stopped. She stared wide-eyed up at the house. It was the house from the dream I'd been having.

"Masako, you okay?" I asked, standing up and leaning over the seat, "What's the matter? Do you feel something?" Monk and Ayako were already outside of the car, stretching and punching each other in the arm. They stopped to hurry over to Masako.

"Her… her presence is s-so strong," Masako whispered, falling to her knees on the ground. She stared up at the house, tears running down her face. She slammed her hands over her eyes sobbing into her hands. "She's so sad!"

I clambered out of the car, pushing Yasu out the door and crouching beside Masako. Hesitantly, I placed my arms around her shoulders. For a second there was nothing, then suddenly I could see a woman with blonde hair staring down at a photo of the man from my dream with crystalline blue eyes. She reached out a finger and caressed the picture. Tears dripped off her nose, splattering into oblivion. Her sadness overwhelmed me. I was drowning in her sorrow.

The sharp yell of my name brought me back. My eyes refocused to find Naru holding my shoulders and staring at me. "Mai, what did you see?" he asked, his voice and eyes hiding the concern behind a blank mask.

When I didn't answer he reached out a hand and rubbed my face. "You're crying," he murmured, showing me his hand. It was slick and shiny.

I stared at his hand and slowly trailed my eyes up to his face. The sorrow flooded me again. The girl and I, we could relate to each other. The tears started to flow faster. I let out a sob, letting my hands fall to my sides.

"Mai," Yasu started to say reaching out to me, but Naru pulled me into his chest. He picked me up like a princess, pressing my face into his chest.

"Miss Williams, please show us to one of our rooms," Naru said turning to Jessica, and then back to the team, "Damien, please show everyone to the room we will use as base. After you guys set up you can go to sleep. Since the ghost targets couples we will have partners at all time. We'll be sharing rooms."

"Who are the couples?" Yasu asked clueless to a point that it wasn't an act.

"Isn't it obvious?" Madoka asked brightly, ticking off the couples on her fingers as she named them off, "First there's Ayako and Monk. Second there's Lin and I. Third there's Mai and Naru, that one everyone already knew. Lastly, there's Yasu and Masako. Sorry John, but you're a priest so I don't think it would matter anyway." She shrugged her shoulders at John with an apologetic grin.

John just smiled good-naturedly. "No offense taken," he said waving the comment away.

Damien grinned. "Wow, you had that planned out didn't you miss?"

Madoka grinned like the mastermind she is. "Of course I did, but the couples were obvious, you have to admit."

Damien nodded. "I have to admit that. They are so obvious," he stage whispered to Madoka behind his hand, "But those two have to be the most obvious of them all." They glanced conspiratorially over their shoulders at Naru and me. I still had my face buried in Naru's chest. My shoulders were still shaking with my sobs. Naru was completely unaware of the other's stares, more concerned with the crying girl in his arms.

He finally seemed to be fed up with the chattering and said, "Miss Williams, our room please."

Jessica grinned. "Alright, alright, come on. The house is a bit big so be careful when walking around. You might get lost," she said with grin and a wink.

Naru followed her into the house. She led us down a long hall way turning this way and that. All of the floors were made of dark hardwood along with wooden beams running across the whole low ceiling.

Somewhere along what seemed to be the hundredth hall, Jessica finally stopped. We were standing in front of a pair of ornately carved doors made of light oak. The handles were long and silver.

"Here's your guys' room," Jessica said with a grin, "If you guys want food dinner will be ready in an hour." She trotted off turning around the corner and disappearing.

I peeked out from Naru's chest and watched the place where she had disappeared. Naru finally opened the door to medium-large bedroom that you would see in a normal house. That explained why there were so many rooms in this house. On one side of the room was a full size bed with dark purple silky looking sheets. A lilac purple comforter covered the bed. A dark cherry wood dresser stood against another wall accompanied by a desk.

Naru quickly walked in, dumping me on the bed. "It would be a good idea for you to go take a shower. Once you're calmed down you can tell me what happened. I'll go get our suitcases while you're in the shower. I won't be more than a few minutes," he told me from the doorway.

"Alright," I murmured rubbing the heel of my hand under each of my eyes and tried to give him an encouraging smile.

I failed miserably.

Naru watched me for a long moment before reluctantly leaving. Once the door was shut I curled up in a ball. The sobs shook me to the bone. The loneliness I felt was eating away at my insides. Though I was surrounded by numerous amounts of people who loved me it was involuntary.

My breath hitched. Naru's words filtered back into my mind. With a gasp and a hiccup, I pushed myself up from the bed. I looked around, quickly finding the bathroom. It was smallish with a stand-up shower, a bath tub, a cabinet full of nice smelling things, a sink and a toilet.

I tip-toed through the bathroom like a rabid dog would run through at any moment and attack me. The door swung shut behind me. The bathtub was deep and looked very inviting. I ran my hand over the smooth side. Turning on the water, I sat on the edge of the bath. The water rose quickly.

I dumped a strawberry smelling bath salt into the water, and slid into the water. The warm water soothed me, relaxing my muscles. Without even realizing it, I slipped into unconsciousness.

**There you go! Hope you like it! The next chapter will be coming soon! Review please :D**


	4. Chapter 4: A Closet

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 4: A Closet

_I was watching the boy around a tree in the woods. Question after question circulated through my mind. Should I go tell him? That would be the best thing right? Will he reject me? Will he accept my feelings? I wish I knew._

_Finally, I decided. I would tell him. This would be the day that I would let him know about my feelings._

_I was just getting ready to reveal myself when a crackling caught my attention. It wasn't the crackling of paper or plastic, it was the crackling of a fire. Branches popped from heat and the light of a fire lit me._

_Fire bore down on me. I screeched. David swung around and called my name. "Run!" I screamed, running in the opposite direction of the fire and of David._

_It chased me, following me up the hill. It spread out around me in a large circle, cornering me. I had nowhere to run. I would die without ever telling him my feelings. He would never know how I truly felt for him._

_Tears ran down my face, evaporating almost instantly in the suffocating heat. "David-," I moaned, collapsing to my knees, "David- I love you."_

_The fire closed in licking at my flesh and leaving black charred skin behind. I let out a blood curdling scream, the kind that warranted be burned alive. My clothes went up in flames, my hair following soon after._

_My world disappeared in a world of pain, sorrow and fire._

…..

I jerked into a sitting position, a scream ripping from my throat. It echoed around the bathroom. My hands convulsed into rigid talons on the edge of the bathtub. My limbs spasmed, knocking into everything and guaranteeing me bruises.

"Mai!" Naru shouted, storming through the door. He ran over to me, holding my head and shoulders down so I wouldn't hurt myself.

"It hurts," I moaned, another scream breaking my lips.

Naru didn't say anything. My sobs were so loud that there was probably no point in trying to speak anyway. He brushed more tears off of my face even though more took their place. He ran his fingers softly through my hair, attempting to calm me even if a little.

When my sobs decreased to hiccups he spoke. "Why did it hurt?" he asked softly, still stroking my hair and staring down at me.

"She was caught in a fire. She burned to death," I hiccupped, keeping my eyes closed as the images flashed past my mind's eye at an impossible speed.

"Who is she?" he asked next.

"The woman from my dream. The woman Masako and I saw. I think her name is Stephanie," I murmured, cracking my eyes just enough to see Naru's eyes. They were blurry from my tears. My eyes filled with more tears as the next few sentences came out of my mouth. "I don't think she was any older than Masako and me. She died without tell him how she felt. Oh god." I sat up, burying my face in my hands as another wave of sorrow swept through me.

Naru's hands fell away. A towel fell over my shoulders. Naru lifted me from the bath, holding me close. I was really beginning to wonder what had gotten into Naru as of late. Multiple times today he'd held me close and lately he'd taken to a new kind of teasing, and he's been more compliant towards me.

One second my brain was whirring with question and the next it was short circuiting. Naru pushed out of the room, depositing me on the bed once more. Like an afterthought, he leaned kissed me on the top of the head.

My face was burning a bright florescent pink. I was sure of it.

He hurried over to the door. He glanced over his shoulder and muttered, "Get dressed and then we'll go down to the others. Miss Williams said dinner was going to be ready soon." The door shut softly and I was left in a silent room. It was eerie.

My suitcase stood against the wall. I grabbed it, heaving it up onto the bed. In a matter of minutes I was ready to go. The room was giving me the willies. It felt like someone was watching my every move.

I rushed from the bedroom, nearly crashing into Naru. "Sorry Naru, that room creeps me the hell out," I said, glaring back into the room. It was innocently bright.

Without a word, Naru turned on his heel and started down the hall. I had to almost run to keep up with his stride. It wasn't until halfway down the sixth hallway when I heard the giggling. It was the giggling of a teenage girl. Ahead of us I saw the flash of a familiar black jacket.

I didn't get the chance to contemplate this new development because I was unceremoniously shoved into an open closet along with Naru. He landed on top of me on his hands and knees. The door slammed behind us. Outside the door I could hear maniacal laughter.

The click of the lock was what captured my attention.

I gasped, breathing in a sharp breath. "That hurt," I groaned, rubbing the back of my head, "Naru, are you okay?" My voice fell away as I was staring up into his midnight-blue eyes. For second time today, my brain short-circuited.

"Are you okay?" Naru asked staring down at me unconcerned about the position we had ended up in. For all I know he was enjoying this compromising situation. Maybe Naru does have hormones after all.

Finally, Naru pushed himself off of me. He pulled me up next to him. We were almost chest to chest. The closet was a small. It barely had enough room to sit down. It must have been a broom closet at some point in time because a forgotten mop leaned in a dusty corner.

Naru tired the handle. It jiggled, but didn't open. "Won't open," he muttered as if he needed something to say.

"Are we stuck locked in?" I asked, looking over his shoulder at the door waiting for something, anything, to happen.

"Looks like it," Naru muttered, falling back to sit on the dirty floor, "The only thing is that this room doesn't have a lock on either the inside or out."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "The ghost?" I asked.

"I believe so," he responded coldly, leaning his head against the back wall.

I glanced between him and the door, considering what to do. Sit down or bang on the door to try and catch someone's attention while making a fool of myself? I chose to sit down. Naru's image of her was already low enough.

We sat in an ever growing silence, staring at the ceiling, the walls, our shoes, anything that we could see really. Except each other.

"What are you planning on doing on Christmas Eve?" Naru asked, destroying the blanket of silence with a serrated knife.

I chewed on my bottom lip. "If we get out of here soon enough then I'll probably just sit at home with hot chocolate curled up in a blanket watching a movie. Something like that. Mainly I'd be alone," I told him, resting my head on my arms.

"You're alone a lot aren't you?" Naru asked, looking sideways at me.

"Yeah, it gets kind of lonely, but I always have you guys to come back to the next day. I'm never alone, not really," I said, a sad smile spreading across my face.

Naru looked away, taking to staring at the wall again. "Do you ever wish for your parents?"

"Sometimes, but I know they're in a better place and they wouldn't want me to be sad," I told him truthfully, "And I have everyone at SPR now so I only talk to them now. I don't wish for them anymore."

Naru quieted down again. His eyes seemed to drift out of focus as he concentrated on something. I took the liberty to study him without him realizing it. I took in every aspect of him, the shape of his jar, the way his bangs fell into his face, the way he held himself even when he was sitting. His eyes flicked to me and I saw amusement flicker across his eyes.

I looked away quickly, my face burning. "W-when do you think they'll find us?" I stuttered, staring at the floor.

"Anytime now," he answered all traces of emotion gone.

**Sorry for the cliff hanger! Next chapter will be up super-duper soon, promise. Anyway, please review :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Incidents

**Merry Christmas Eve! Happy holidays to you that don't celebrate Christmas. I realize that Naru is a bit OOC, but I need him like that, sorry. Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's kind of a filler, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

**EDIT: Sorry for those of you who already read this chapter and questioned my huge mistake, but I fixed it so those of you who haven't don't worry 'bout it.  
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Chapter 5: Incidents

As Naru had predicted, help came within minutes. One minute it was quiet as could be and the next angry shouting could be heard.

"I can't believe this! Not even here two hours! Gah, I'm soaked!" came Ayako's whiney yell, "This is all your fault!"

"Well sorry for trying to help you after you fell into the stream. Next time I'll just let you sit in that muddy stream by yourself!" Monk shouted back.

I gasped. That was Ayako and Monk. They could get us out of here. Maybe if I made enough noise they'd come get us. "Hey, we're in here!" I started to shout as I shot to my feet, but a stray something, I have no idea what it was, rolled under my foot. I let out a shriek as I tumbled backward. In milliseconds I was face to face with Naru… again. How many times was this now? I didn't know. All I knew was that the difference between this time and the last was that our lips met.

That's right. I had accidentally kissed the stone cold ghost hunter. My face was no doubt that neon pink again, but I was unable to move. All brain function had ceased on contact. Naru seemed just as surprised, though it was always hard to see.

Silence filtered in from outside the door. "Hey, did you hear that?" Monk asked after a long moment. The tapping of his shoes started up again as he came closer.

A wave of panic washed through me. Unexpectedly, Naru grabbed the back of my head and pressed us closer together. He did have hormones! They were real! They weren't all completely dead!

I pressed my eyes tightly shut, almost melting into the kiss if my insides hadn't been warming with molten panic. If Monk and Ayako found us I could just imagine the teasing we'd get. It wouldn't be a pretty teasing either!

Just as the doorknob was turning, Naru broke away, pulled us to our feet, and disengaged us from each other. The door flung open with a triumphant cry just as Naru straightened out his jacket. Monk face as he saw us as far apart as we could get.

"Dangit," he groaned, hanging his head, "I was hoping to find you guys making-out or something."

Naru stepped out of the closet with a smirk. "If you get your own sex life then you won't have to rely on us," he said bluntly. I followed quickly after him, letting Monk slam the door shut.

"Like you have one. I'm pretty sure I have a bigger sex life then you do," Monk quipped back, glaring over his shoulder at him, "What were you two doing in the closet anyway?"

"We got locked in there," I said quickly not wanting Naru to slip up and inadvertently tell these two about the kiss. Even though that was almost an impossibility there is always a first time for everything.

Ayako raised an eyebrow at me. "Mai, this door doesn't have a lock. Did you really think that would fool us?" she said, her voice suspicious.

I groaned. This was going to be hard to explain wasn't it? "Stephanie pushed us in and locked the door," I elaborated.

"Who's Stephanie?" Monk asked.

"The ghost," Naru said. I jumped. He was standing right behind me. I hadn't heard him even step up!

Ayako and Monk looked at each other with conspiratorial grins. "Oh sure, blame it on the ghost. We all know you two have been trying to jump into each other's pants. This was just the best way to justify being gone," Monk said, Ayako nodding her agreement.

Naru looked at them with a bored glare. "If you two know about everything, then why are you both so muddy?" I asked, butting in before Naru could retort with something that would not help any situation.

Monk and Ayako glanced down at their mud coated clothing, remember why they'd come in here in the first place. Monk was the first to answer. "Smart one here decided it'd be a good idea to wear high heels into the back field and tripped into a stream. I tried to help her, but she just dragged me in with her," he complained.

"I dragged you in? You tripped on your own!" Ayako shouted, "And for your information, **someone **pushed me into the stream!" She glared pointedly at Monk.

"**I** pushed you? You tripped on the bank! And you pulled me in when I reached out my hand to help you up!" Monk shouted back. They were getting in each other's faces, oblivious to Naru and me.

"You're delusional! Why would I pull you down with me? I didn't even pull on your hand!" Ayako shouted.

"Your age must be catching up with you! You're forgetting the smallest things! Like the fact that I was ten feet behind you and you pulled me, you old hag!" Monk shouted back.

I stared at them, regretting bringing their muddy clothes back up. "Let's go," I whispered to Naru, inching down the wall. Naru turned on his heel walking down the hallway without caring about the two seeing us leave. They could care less about us leaving now. I had relit a fire that wasn't going to be put out easily.

We walked in silence again being more wary of random closets in the halls. I let my mind drift off, staring unfocused down the wall. We were just walking into base when I saw that same flash of black down the hall. I stopped to stare. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I could have sworn I'd just seen…

"Mai, tell us what you saw!" Naru barked from inside base.

I jumped, hurrying into base. "Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," I grumbled, staring over my shoulder, "Where do you want me to begin?"

"The one in the car," he said, sitting down next to Lin. Madoka, Yasu and Masako sat on the couch staring at me expectantly. Madoka and Yasu shared a mischievous grin. John only glanced up at me from an overstuffed armchair.

"Okay," I murmured, thinking back. It'd only been an hour or so, but it already seemed to be days ago. "The first one was of Stephanie talking to a boy named David and she was… watching him? It's the kind of watching that a little girl does when she likes a boy. In the one I saw with Masako, I saw her as a ghost crying in front of a photo of the man, David. In the one when I was in the bath, well… you already know." I was staring at the floor thinking of everything that had happened so far.

"Tell everyone," Naru ordered, crossing his arms.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breathe, "In the dream I had while I was in the bath, Stephanie died in a forest fire. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but I could feel her pain."

"W-was that the screaming I heard earlier?" John stuttered, staring at me with wide, horrified eyes.

I nodded.

"Alright, Yasu, tomorrow I need you to go to city hall and dig up the information on this house. Then go to the library and find any newspaper articles about this house and its occupants. You'll be taking Hara-san with you," Naru ordered, looking at Yasu who nodded sullenly, "Has anyone had experiences since we got here?"

Lin and Madoka shook their heads. "No, and I don't think we are going to have any."

"Why would you say that?" I asked tilting my head quizzically.

Madoka grinned. "Just a hunch I have."

"Hara-san? Yasu?" Naru said, turning his head to the two.

"A dog almost attacked me, but Yasu saved me," Masako said with a slight blush, "It just came out of nowhere, and he scared it off."

"Then Mai, tell them about what happened to us and Miss Matsuzaki and Monk," Naru said, "Then tea. Take John with you."

I glared at the back of his head. "Yes, oh dark overlord of ours," I growled, "Okay, so Monk and Ayako got pushed into a muddy stream, and Naru and I got locked in a broom closet that doesn't have a lock." After I was done, I stomped off.

John jumped up from his seat, running after me.

**Hope you liked this chapter! Please review :D and Merry Christmas Eve!**


	6. Chapter 6: Pouting

**Merry Christmas everyone! Or happy holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas. Sorry that this story isn't done today, but here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 6: Pouting

"What is wrong with Naru? Is he on his damn man-period or something? Excuse my language, I mean really, he's been through so many mood swings that I can't even keep up, and I have to sleep next to him?" I gripped, slamming a teakettle on the stove. The water sloshed around nearly jumping out of it.

"It's fine, but has he really been that bad?" John asked, grinning.

"Yes!" I cried, throwing my arms up in the air.

"Who's that bad? I hope you're not talking about moi," I heard a familiar voice ask behind me.

I grinned. "Damien!" I shouted in English, turning around and throwing my arms around his neck, "Would you play a trick on Naru please? He's being a meanie." I gave him puppy dog eyes even if I was only half kidding.

Damien laughed. "Maybe after our case is solved," he told me.

I slid back down to the floor with a pout. "That's not fair," I said, sticking my bottom lip out, "So what have you guys been working on lately?"

"Oh, you know, this and that. We got a new guy living with us right now. Can't act worth a damn, but he's a wiz at stuff like computers and other electronics. Oh yeah, and the paranormal. I have to say that's the coolest thing about him," David said with a grin.

"Really? What's his name?" I asked my eyebrows rose until they disappeared in my hairline, "What does he look like?"

Damien stroked his chin. He always liked to fake like he actually had a goatee. "I don't see him too often. He usually only comes around for shows to work the lights and such. But I think he's got jet-black hair and dark blue eyes. He usually wears like blues and stuff. I believe his name starts with an E or something."

I jerked my eyes to stare at John. We exchanged knowing glances. "You know who that sounds like?" I asked reflexively switching to Japanese, my eyebrows still gone on vacation in my hairline.

"Do you think Naru knows?" John asked his own eyebrows gone.

I shook my head vigorously. "If he knew, he'd be searching this house from top to bottom with no stone left unturned, but do you think it's true. He's supposed to be dead."

"Who's supposed to be dead?" Damien asked, cocking his head to the side with a curious look.

"Naru's twin brother," I answered grabbing my chin with my hand and putting the other on my hip, "Where did you guys find the new guy?"

Damien shrugged. "Don't know, Jessica never told me. Apparently he's been in a coma for nearly two years and just recently woke up. Like literally only a couple months ago."

"Wow," I murmured, staring up at him, "That would explain why he hasn't been in my dreams us much lately. And he hasn't been to visit me these last three dreams." My sudden switch from English to Japanese just goes to show how shocked I really was.

The screaming of the teapot brought me back to my senses. Jumping, I hurried to pull it from the stove. "Would you like a cup of tea Damien? I'm taking some to Naru and the others right now," I asked, switching back to English like flipping a switch.

"'Course I do. Your tea is amazing. Do you even have to ask?" he asked with a grin, grabbing the tray from my hands.

I grinned and laughed. "Well, if I take your word for it then that might be why Naru drinks so much of it and won't drink anyone else's."

"Or maybe it's just because you're so pretty and he's got the hots for you," Damien teased, pinching my cheek as if I were a little kid.

I growled, snapping at his hand. He laughed playfully as I snatched back to tray. "Naru will think you've made the tea and scold me if you bring in the tray," I told him, sticking my tongue out before leaving the kitchen. Damien and John hustled behind, chatting animatedly with each other. If I didn't know Damien better I'd have thought he was actually having a normal conversation. Unfortunately, I did know him better. He was probably picking John's brain for information. John probably even knew. He was such a good guy.

At base, I nudged the door open with my foot to find Naru conversing with Lin in English. Other than our clients, Madoka and John, no one else in the room knew English besides myself which Naru did not know.

"Why are they coming here?" Naru asked, his voice more aggravated than usual yet his face stayed blank, "Can't they just stay in England?"

"I don't know why they're coming. Apparently they have a hunch about someone working in Miss Williams' acting group," Lin explained. His fingers were flying over his keyboard as if he weren't having a conversation.

Naru crossed his arms, staring angrily at the wall. He looked like a brooding child who wasn't getting his way. "If they have a hunch about something they could just ask us to investigate it. There's no need for them to come all the way over here," he grumbled.

Lin shook his head. "These are your parents we're talking about. They would never turn down an excuse to travel," Lin tried to reason, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

"Like I care about their whims," he griped.

Lin didn't answer. That was my cue to step in. I set the tray down on next to Naru, making sure to make more noise than usual. "Naru, here's your tea," I said, pouring his tea and holding out a cup.

He stared at the cup for a long moment before slowly taking it.

With a shake of my head I started pouring the other cups of tea. "Would everyone like a cup?" I asked, turning to look at the rest of the team.

"Yes please!" they shouted in unison, jumping from their seats and converging on me like a pack of ravenous wolves.

I laughed. "Okay, hold on, hold on. Don't break anything," I said batting them away. Quickly, I poured out the cups. I handed them out giggling as I saw them sigh. "Are you all okay?"

"No, we're tired," Yasu grumbled, yawning loudly.

"Then why don't you all just go to bed?" I asked.

"We're hungry," Masako answered, plopping back down in her armchair, her nose stuffed in her teacup. If she wasn't careful she'd fall asleep like that.

Jessica kicked the door open, dragging in several carts, plates and jugs. "Sorry 'bout that guys. I fell asleep while I was cooking," she said, setting the plates down on the table, "Bon appetite."

Ayako, Monk, Yasu, Masako and Madoka fell on the food. Damien and Jessica joined in soon after. I held back with John, Naru and Lin until the six had gotten their fair share of food. "Come on, let's eat before they eat it all," I told the other three, motioning to the food.

John nodded, walking over with me. "Should we get those two food first?" John asked me. We looked back over our shoulders at the sullen pair. It didn't look like they'd be moving anytime soon.

I nodded. "I'll get Naru, you get Lin?" I asked.

"Sure," John said.

We pulled four clean plates over to us. Quickly, before the other six could clean off the rest of the dishes, we grabbed what looked good. "Here Naru, got you something before the others could eat it all," I said, holding out the plate. He took it without a comment. Lin did the same, only giving John a nod.

I plunked down in an open computer chain crossing my legs and eating slowly. I scooted over and patted the empty seat next to me. John, with a slight blush, perched next to me with a quiet thank you.

"You guys are so very boring," I heard a female voice groan, "I think I'll have to add some excitement." Without so much as a warning, I blacked out.

**Sorry for another cliffy. Hope you liked this chapter though. I know it was kind of a boring chapter. Merry Christmas again, review please! It'll be one of my best Christmas gifts!**


	7. Chapter 7: Out of Character

**EDIT: So I decided to finally get off my lazy butt and change the conversations up so they're easier to read. No more hard to understand Shakespeare! :D Anyway, I hope this makes it a little easier to understand, and I'll probably be cutting scenes out and adding things in so, haha :P Have fun with the edited version.**

**Honestly, now I have no idea what I was thinking. While I was reading over this, I realized why some people got mad *bows deeply begging for forgiveness* I hope this makes up for it.  
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…_.._

_I will tell you ahead of time, I will not include all the scenes in the play they are basically acting out. There is a very big possibility that I will talk about all the skipped scenes, but I may miss a few so please don't kill me if I do. I know that when they talk it'll be hard to understand, but if you've read the play before or haven't I'm hoping the character's action will be sufficient enough explanation. And yes, I'm not saying the play's name on purpose. If you figure out which one it get I'll give you a virtual cookie :D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any works by Shakespeare. All quotes and conversations belong to Shakespeare._

…..

Chapter 7: Out of Character

When light returned to my vision I was standing in base, but none of the original furniture was there. The monitors and electronics were also gone. Old fashioned furniture lined the room. A deep cherry wood desk was by the window. Its surface was well-worn. Two old couches were placed around an old coffee table accompanied by a high-backed sitting chair. On the side table a book labeled "A Midsummer Night's Dream" lay open, face-down.

I sat on one of the couches in an old Victorian-style dress in a crème color. Naru sat beside me in his usual black suit, holding my hand and looking high and mighty, per usual. In a greyish suit Yasu sat in the high-backed armchair. On a couch across from Naru and me, Lin sat in his usual suit glaring at us.

Outside the room I could hear a man and a woman talking. Their voices sounded vaguely familiar. The voices got closer and I had to cover a gasp when I saw who walked in.

Naru's parents walked through the door in long, formal looking robes. I caught the tail end of their conversation. "…with extravagant festivals, public festivities, and celebration."

Lin stood up. "Long live Martin, our renowned duke," he said. He bowed to Martin.

Martin held up his hand. "Thanks, Lin. What's up?"

Lin stood up and gestured to me. "I'm here to complain about my daughter Mai.—Step forward, Yasuhara.-"

Yasu stood and stepped up beside Lin. I watched the proceedings with growing confusion, wondering exactly what was wrong with my friends and when I had become Lin's daughter.

"Martin, I have given Yasu permission to marry her, but this man… —Come forward, Oliver.-" Lin gestured to Naru who stood, but did not step forward.

"But this man has put a spell on her." He pointed an accusing finger at Naru, glaring burning daggers at him. "You, Oliver, you've given her poems and exchanged tokens of 'love', enchanting her imagination with trinkets and toys, singing and locks of your hair, but you've only pretended to love her! You're trying to steal her heart, making her stubborn and harsh instead of obedient (like she should be)." He muttered the last part, glaring down at his clenched fist. He jerked his head up and continued on with his tirade.

I'd tuned out by now, trying oh so hard to figure out what the hell was going on. This was really not normal for anyone. Well, maybe Yasu seeing as he loved to be dramatic, but not the others, especially Lin.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Mai? Think carefully. Your father should be like a god to you seeing as he is the one who gave you your beauty." He smiled over at Lin who nodded at the compliment. He returned his gaze back to me a second later, all serious once more. "Realize that you're like a wax figurine to him, he can decide to keep you intact or disfigure you. Yasuhara is a worthy gentleman," Martin asked, explaining to me something that I was slowly starting to believe was true.

I shook my head. I jumped up, my temper flaring though I didn't yell. "So is Oliver."

Martin nodded. "You're right, but your father wishes you to marry Yasuhara, not Oliver. In this situation, you must consider Yasuhara the better man." He shrugged like it was out of his hand, watching me expectantly.

I frowned. I wanted to scoff something about how Yasu was still a boy, but instead, I said, "I wish Father could see them how I see them." I glared hard at Lin.

"Actually, you have to see them as Lin sees them," Martin corrected.

I made a noise in the back of my throat between a snort and a growl. See through his eyes? Like that was ever going to happen. "Pardon me, but I don't know what makes you think that I can do that, and I don't know exactly what will happen if I speak my mind to you. It may damage my reputation. But please, go ahead and tell me what will happen to me if I refuse to marry Yasu," I said holding a hand over my mouth as if I were doing anything, but asking for forgiveness.

"You'll either be executed or never see another man. Think carefully, and consider how young you are. Do you really want to be a nun the rest of your life? A virgin priest may be rewarded in heaven, but a married woman is happier here."

I tuned out once more, not needing to hear Martin's speech about virgin and married woman. It held no interest for me. Instead, I studied Naru, Yasu, Lin and Martin, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with this picture. My mind struggled against the bonds that were being placed on it, trying to constrict me to my role.

Martin concluded his speech bluntly, staring at me with slightly annoyed eyes.

I stared him down, and was vehement with my answer. "You know, I'd rather be a nun than give up my virginity to someone I don't love," I spat at him, enjoying as the jaws of three out of four of the men tightened.

Martin sighed out his tensions. "Take some time to think. By the next moon –the day I will finally marry Luella- be ready to either be executed, marry Yasuhara, or to take your vows as a nun," Martin ordered.

"Come now, Mai, just give in, and Oliver, stop acting like she'd yours because she'd not. I've got more of a right to her than you do," Yasu said, staring at the two of us. Just to annoy him a little bit more and as an act of defiance, I slid my hand into Naru's. I glared back at him, hating how he considered me his property.

Naru smirked. "You have her father's love, Yasu. Why don't you marry him and I'll marry Mai?" he asked patronizingly.

Lin burst out, "You're right, Oliver, he does have my love and that's exactly why I'm giving him my daughter. She's mine, and I'm giving her to Yasu."

Naru turned to Martin and said earnestly, "Sir, I'm just as noble and rich as he is. I love Mai more than he does. I am just as good as he is, if not better. And Mai loves me—which is more important than all those other things I'm bragging about. Why shouldn't I be able to marry her? Yasu courted Nedar's daughter, Masako, and made her fall in love with him. Masako loves devoutly. She adores this horrible and unfaithful man." Now it was his turn to point an accusing finger at Yasu.

Martin nodded. "I have to admit I've heard something about that, and meant to ask Yasuhara about it, but I was too busy other things that it slipped my mind." He sighed again, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, Yasuhara, Lin, come with me. I want to say a few things to you in private. As for you, Mai, get ready to do as your father wishes, because otherwise the law says that you must die or become a nun, and there's nothing I can do about that." He shrugged his shoulders apologetically once more before turning to Luella. "Luella, how are you, my love?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "Yasuhara and Lin, come with us. I want you to do some things for our wedding, and I also want to discuss something that concerns you both." I had a feeling that that last part must have had something to do with what Luella and he were talking about before they came in.

Lin bowed again. "Of course, sir."

Naru and I glared at the three men, leaving before they could take a step. I gave a shaky sigh and ran my hand through my hair. It was put up in a messy bun, but I didn't care about it getting pulled out.

Naru looked at me with worried eyes. "What's the matter? You look pale," he asked, touching my cheek gently and he pulled me to a gentle stop.

I glanced at the ground woefully, tears filling my eyes. "Oh, I'm sure they'll go back to being red once I start crying," I told him.

"Oh! Listen, in books they say that true love always faces obstacles. Either the lovers have different social standings-," he started to say, cupping my face.

"Oh, what an obstacle that would be! Imagine being too high on the social ladder, and falling in love with someone beneath you," I said sarcastically, scrubbing at my eyes. If I thought about it that was Naru and me. He was a rich paranormal researcher and I was a struggling high school student. How ironic that was.

"Or they were very different ages-," he listed next.

"How awful! Being too old to marry someone young," I cried, throwing my hand against my forehead dramatically.

"Or their friends and parents said no-," he said with an almost grin.

I wasn't crying anymore. I was just annoyed now as I said, "What hell, to have your love life determined by someone else!" That was what this seemed to be, whatever this was.

"Or their love might be ruined by war, death, or sickness, making what they had only last an instant. Their time together might be fleeting, lasting only the space of a heartbeat. Before you know it, it's gone. That's how intense things like love are quickly destroyed," he said, holding my arms down to my side so I wouldn't punch something.

All the fight went out of me and I started to calm down as those thoughts started to filter through my mind. "I guess it's a rule of fate for something to always go wrong for true lovers. If it's a normal part of love, I guess we'll just have to be patient," I told him.

Naru grinned and nodded his head. "That's the right attitude. I have an aunt who is a widow, who's very rich and doesn't have any children. She lives about twenty miles from here, and she thinks of me as a son. I could marry you there where the strict laws of Athens can't touch us. So here's the plan. You'll sneak out of your father's house tomorrow and meet me in the forest a few miles out of town. You remember the place, I met you there once with Masako to celebrate May Day. I'll wait for you there," he told me with an excited lilt to his voice.

"Oliver, I swear I'll be there tomorrow. I give you my word, I will meet you there tomorrow," I said, sealing the promise with a kiss.

When I finally broke away, Naru said, "Keep your promise, my love." He glanced down the hallway and smiled. "Oh look, here comes Masako."

Masako walked down the hallway, coming over to us. She also wore a Victorian-style dress, but in a baby blue color. "Hi, beautiful Masako! Where you off to?" I asked as she came up next to me.

Masako looked at me with an odd look to her eyes. "Did you just call me 'beautiful'? Take it back. You're the beautiful one as far as Yasu is concerned. Oh, you're so lucky! Your eyes are like stars, and your voice is more musical than a lark's song is to a shepherd in the springtime. Sickness is contagious - I wish beauty were contagious too! I would catch your good looks before I left. If the world was mine, I'd give it all up -everything except Yasu- to be you," she sighed solemnly, "Teach me how you look the way you do and how you made Yasu fall in love with you."

She must have been lying through her teeth, she'd never think so highly of me. As far as I knew, she thought I was a piece of dirt on her shoe. The only thing was that I didn't think she was lying about the stuff about Yasu. This was a brewing recipe for disaster. I kind of wanted to hit her because she was being so oh-pity-me. That wasn't Masako's cup of tea.

"I frown at him, and curse him, and yet he still gives me love. The more I hate, the more he follows me," I grumbled, almost growling.

"The more I love him, the more he hates me," Masako said woefully, looking like a lost puppy. It wasn't hard to imagine her with drooping ears and a tail.

"Oh, Masako, it's not my fault that he's a thick headed bastard and acts the way he does."

She looked at me accusingly. "That's true, it's your beauty's fault. I wish I had a fault like that!"

I tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, he won't be able to see my face much longer. Oliver and I are running away," I told her, giddy for the plan to begin soon.

Naru jumped on the comforting train as well, though by now it sounded more like gloating that anything. Like we were rubbing her face in our happiness. "Masako, we'll tell you about our secret plan. Tomorrow night we plan to sneak out of Athens."

I nodded with a wide smile. "In the woods where you and I used to lounge around -that's where we're going to meet. From there, we're going to turn our backs on Athens. We'll look for new friends and keep the company of strangers," I told her excitedly, "Bye, Masako. Pray for us, and I hope you win over Yasu!"

I turned to Naru, pressing a finger into his chest. "Keep your promise, Oliver. We need to stay away from each other until midnight tomorrow."

Naru smiled. "I will, Mai," he told me. I grinned and ran off before either of them could say anymore.

"Bye, Masako. I hope Yasu comes to love you as much as you love him!" he called, trotting down the hallway in the opposite direction that I had disappeared.

Masako waved, smiling. Her smile dropped away as soon as Naru had disappeared. "It's amazing how much happier some people are than others! People throughout Athens think I'm as beautiful as Mai. But so what? Yasu doesn't think so, and that's all that matters. He refuses to admit..." She trailed off in a barely audible mutter, biting her thumb nail and trailing slowly after me.

…..

_Hope this chapter wasn't too horrible. If you need translations and can figure out the play them got to "spark notes" this helped me a lot while I was reading this play. I couldn't stop laughing throughout most of this. There are so many OOC characters now xD. Does anyone know if I'll get in trouble for using the quotes and conversations from the play? Please tell me if I will so I can change it. I really don't want to get in trouble for plagiarism. Please review with comments and information on that please._


	8. Chapter 8: The Play

**EDIT: So, I edited out all of the hard-to-understand Shakespeare mumbo jumbo. Hope this makes the story easier to read (:**

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_I am so very sorry to those of you who did not understand a lick of what happened in the last chapter. In this one I'll reveal the name of the play and a few other things in this chapter so you can go to "spark notes" and figure out what their saying. Sorry I can't help more. Just so you know, I did change some of the details of the speech to fit everyone. Like 'little Indian boy' into 'little Australian boy'._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of Shakespeare's works. Conversations and quotes used from his works are purely NOT mine and only being used for the story._

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Chapter 8: The Play

I trotted out of the house, a wide grin on my face. Why I was grinning, I didn't know. My head was still reeling from what had just happened, but my body seemed to move on its own. Sighing in resignations, I let myself sink into the role I'd been given. I might as well see where this was going to lead.

I slowly walked down the long gravel driveway seeing as there weren't very many places I could go out in the middle of nowhere. A group of six people stood off to the side talking loudly. The group consisted of Jessica, Damien, three men that I thought were probably from their acting group, and a lookalike Naru.

One of the men who had shockingly orange hair and dark eyes jumped out on something someone had said. "In that case, if I can wear a mask, let me play Thisbe too! I'll be Pyramus first: 'Thisne, Thisne!' And then in falsetto: 'Ah, Pyramus, my dear lover! I'm your dear Thisbe, your dear lady!' He pressed his hand to his chest as if he were playing a girl.

I passed as lookalike Naru shook his head saying, "No, you have to play Pyramus. And Jessica, you'll be Thisbe." He pointed to Jessica who huffed in annoyance.

"Well, go on then," the boy said haughtily.

The Naru lookalike glanced down at a piece of paper in his hands. "Robbie Starveling, the tailor?" he asked.

I had a hunch that he wasn't just a Naru lookalike. I wanted to stay longer, but that didn't seem to be in the script.

A tall boy with light brown hair raised his hand, "Here, Eugene Davis."

I wanted to swing around and run to him, but something kept pushing me forward. When I got to the bottom of the hill where the court met the street I stopped. Finally, I was able to spin around. "Gene! I'm going to get you for not telling us!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping he heard me.

When I turned away with a brooding huff I came face to face with Stephanie. She floated there, looking at me with an odd expression. "You're not like the others," she said, circling me, "They all fell into their roles perfectly. They didn't fight against my hypnotism. Their characters have changed drastically to fit their roles, but you, you've only assimilated slightly. You still have your own thoughts. And you're messing up my play."

I looked at her with wide-eyes. "You're hypnotizing us?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's something I could do when I was alive," she said nonchalantly, coming to a stop. She alighted on her feet in front of me.

"Why are you hypnotizing us?" I asked her.

"Because I never got to direct the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. It's my most favorite play ever. I saw my chance to do that with you guys and took it. I'm sorry if I've offended you," she said sounding sincere. Then she shrugged.

I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hair. "Okay, so all you want is to direct 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' using us, right?" I asked.

"You got it," she said with a grin.

"Then if we stay till the end of this 'play' will you move on?" I asked looking up at her.

"Definitely," she told me with a grin.

I smiled back. "So, just wondering, why did you give us each a role that really didn't suite us all that well? I'm glad you modernized the language, otherwise this seems like it would be impossible but…"

"Well, I find it funny that each of you have to step so far out of your comfort zones. That's what good acting is isn't it?" she said with a shrug as if that explained everything.

I nodded like I understood. "One more thing. Am I dreaming?"

She smiled and shook her head as my world went black again. When I awoke for the second time I was sitting up in a tree. I must have been acting as an audience member because I was back in my regular clothes. Beside me sat Stephanie with the book 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. She was staring down into a clearing intently. I turned my eyes to where she was staring and settled in for the next scene.

Madoka skipped in from one side of the woods while a girl from the acting group skipped in through the other. They were both wearing wispy white dresses with fake fairy wings on their backs. "Hello, spirit! Where are you going?" Madoka asked with a sweeping bow.

"I go everywhere. I work for Ayako, the Fairy Queen, and organize fairy dances for her in the grass. The cowslip flowers are her bodyguards. Now I have to go find some dewdrops and hang a pearl earring on every cowslip flower. Goodbye, you dumb old spirit. I've got to go. The queen and her elves will be here soon," the girl said, flipping back her long blonde hair.

"King Monk is having a party here tonight. Just make sure the queen doesn't come anywhere near him, because, well to put it in leman's terms, he's pissed. She stole an adorable boy from an Australian king. She's never kidnapped such a darling human child before, and, well, Monk's a bit jealous. He wants the child, but the queen refuses to hand him over. Instead, she puts flowers in the boy's hair and makes a fuss over him," Madoka sneered in a way that only Madoka could, "And now Monk and Ayako refuse to speak, or see each other. They always argue, and the little fairies get so frightened that they hide in acorn cups and won't come out." She pouted, her bottom lips sticking out, and stamped her foot in agitation.

The other girl narrowed her eyes at Madoka. "Unless I'm mistaken, you're that mischievous and naughty spirit named Madoka Mori. Don't you go around scaring the girls in the village, screwing up the flour mills and pissing off housewives? Don't keep beer from foaming up and cause people to get lost at night, while you laugh at them? Some people call you other things like 'sweet Puck' and you're nice to them. You do their work for them and give them good luck. That's you, right?" the girl asked.

"That's me, the playful wanderer of the night," Madoka said proudly, puffing out her chest. "I tell Monk jokes and make him smile. I do many things all in the name of fun! Sometimes an old woman with a story to tell tries to sit down on me thinking I'm a three-legged stool. But I slip from underneath her and she falls down, crying, 'Ow, my butt!' and starts coughing, and then everyone laughs and has fun." She paused in her gloating, looking over her shoulder "Get out of the way, fairy! Here comes Monk," Madoka announced, stepping aside.

The girl jumped around crying, "Oh no, and here's Ayako. I wish he'd go away!" She glared pointedly to Madoka who stood with her hands on her hips.

Ayako entered from where the girl had. She had her own set of fairy wings and wore deep red robes accompanied by a gold crown. Monk entered on Madoka's side wearing heavy blue robes accompanied by a silver crown and a pair of fairy wings. Both were followed by a small group of females and males wearing the same wispy clothes and wings as Madoka and the girl.

I tried to stifle my laughter. Stephanie glanced over at me, giving me a confused look. "They look ridiculous all high and mighty like that with **fairy wings** strapped to their backs. They are never going to live this one down," I explained to her, but she only rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the scene she was directing below.

Monk groaned, "Oh, fantastic. How nice to see you, Ayako."

"What, are you jealous, Monk?" Ayako asked with a conceding smile, "Fairies, we're leaving. I've sworn I'll never sleep with him or talk to him again." She turned on her heel to leave, but Monk's next words stopped her.

"Wait just a minute, you brazen hussy. Aren't you supposed to obey me, your lord and husband?" Monk asked.

I flinched. Ayako stopped dead in her tracks. She whipped around, glaring daggers at Monk. Had he really just called her a hussy? If Ayako hadn't been stuck in a role, she would have already been kicking the holy hell out of him. Good thing Monk would never call anybody something like that under normal circumstances. I couldn't even imagine him ever calling anybody, let alone Ayako, that.

As Ayako's temper started to rage I turned to Stephanie. "Did he just call her what I think he called her?" I asked.

"Yep, isn't that a kicker?" she asked, watching the scene progress quickly.

"B-but this is Monk! He'd never call Ayako something like that!" I cried, staring back at the two who were still a clearing apart.

"And your bed bunny isn't so affectionate, yet during this whole thing he can't seem to keep his emotions to himself," she pointed out looking at me, "Why do you think that is?"

I made a disgruntled noise in the back of my throat because I knew she had a point. "It's because he's in character," I told her with a sigh. John had stepped out of the woods on Ayako's side with light blue robes and a small crown on. "Why's John there?"

"He's the Indian boy, well Australian boy in this case, that the fairy king and queen are fighting over. And you're right about the other thing," she told me, tilting her head to the side, "They seem to be very accustomed to fighting."

"They fight 24/7," I told her with a grin.

"I can see that," she murmured.

We watched quietly as Ayako swooped out of the clearing. Monk started talking to Madoka with a very serious tone. He sent her off to find a flower called 'love-in-waiting'. He was leaning against the trunk of a tree when Yasuhara and Masako stumbled into the clearing.

It looked like they were already halfway through their conversation. Yasu was yelling at Masako who seemed to be pleading with him. I ignored their conversation, not wanting to see two more of my friends fighting even if it was only because they were being directed to. It wasn't until they ran back out of the clearing that Madoka floated back in.

She handed Monk the stem of a flower with two flowers growing out of it. It looked like a purple pansy. He tore the second flower off and told her to put it on the Asian boy's eyes.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm at your service," she said, saluting him and running off with a dancing quality. Monk sighed and went on his own way.

…..

_Okay, I lied. Looks like I won't be elaborating on any of the left out scenes. The only scenes that will be in the next chapters are ones with Mai in them. And also, would you guys like me to go back and change up the language to make it easier to understand? Review and tell me which you prefer please (:_

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	9. Chapter 9: Disbelief

**EDIT: So, here's another chapter. There's only one more after this that needs to be edited. I hope this is making it easier to read.**

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_Here's the next chapter. There should only be about, maybe, two or three more chapters of this confusing stuff. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of Shakespeare's works. Conversations and quotes used from his works are purely __**NOT**__ mine and only being used for the story._

…..

Chapter 9: Disbelief

Suddenly I was walking next Naru in the dark, our hands entwined together. We were close to a clearing. Not the one Monk, Ayako, Masako and Yasu had been in earlier. Through the trees I could see Ayako sleeping on a bed of flowers. Monk was lying next to her. He moved the hair out of her face, brushing her eyelids with the flower. Without even asking I knew Naru couldn't see them.

We stepped through the trees and into the clearing when Naru finally spoke. "My love, you look like you're about to faint, and to tell you the truth, I've gotten us lost," he said, taking both of my hands, "We'll take a rest, if you think it's a good idea, and wait until the sun rises."

I smiled up at him. "Let's do that. You find something sleep on. I'm going to sleep over here," I told him, looking around at this side of the clearing. Tall grass grew around us.

"We can both sleep in the grass together. We'll have one heart, one bed, two bodies, and one faithful vow," he tried with a suggestive grin and wiggle of his eyebrows.

I shook my head. That was not going to happen. Not in the woods anyway. "No, Oliver. Please sleep a little farther away. Don't sleep so close to me," I told him, pushing him away.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything bad when I said that. I just meant that our hearts are joined, so we can almost think of them as one heart. Our two bodies are linked together by the promises we've made to each other, so there are two bodies and one faithful vow. So let me sleep next to you. If I lie next to you, I won't lie to you, I'll be faithful and respect you," he told me earnestly.

I shook my head with a laugh. "You've got a way with words, but I didn't mean to imply that you were a liar. But please, darling, sleep a little farther away so we can behave properly. It's only proper for a well-behaved bachelor and a well-behaved girl to be physically separated like this. Stay away for now, and good night. I hope your love for me remains this strong for your entire life!"

Naru sighed. "Amen to that. I hope my life ends before my loyalty to you does!" he exclaimed, walking to the other side of the clearing, "I'll sleep over here then. Sleep well!"

I smiled at him, sitting lightly on the ground near a tree, "You sleep well too." My character's problem with sleeping near each other seemed kind of pointless to me, but I reminded myself that I wasn't the one running the show.

We both leaned against our respective trees. Instantly, my eyelids dropped and my body relaxed. Our breathing slowed. I knew that Naru was truly asleep, but I fought against the hypnotic sleep, triumphing over it. There were soft footsteps in the grass soon after Naru had drifted off. I sat there and listened to a long winded speech by Madoka, cracking my eyes open just enough to see Madoka rub the flower across Naru's eyes.

That flower gave me a horrible feeling.

She fluttered out of the clearing only to be replaced by a gasping Yasu and Masako. They didn't seem to realize we were here. "Yasuhara, stop! …even if only to kill me," Masako gasped, coming to a stop. She bent over with her hands on her knees.

"I keep telling you, leave me alone! Stop following me around," Yasu told her angrily, backing up until he was several yards away from her.

Masako looked up quickly, fear flashing in her eyes. "You're going to leave me alone in the dark? Please don't," she nearly pleaded.

"Stay here at your own risk. I'm going on alone," Yasu said with a sneer before running off past Naru.

Masako made a sound in her throat like she was about to cry. "I'm tired of this stupid chase. The more I pray, the less I get out of it. Mai is lucky because she has beautiful eyes. How did her eyes get so bright? Obviously not from crying. If that were the case, I would have eyes just as bright as hers. No, I'm as ugly as a bear, since animals that see me run away in terror. So it's no surprise that Yasu runs away from me as if I were a monster. What mirror made me think I could compete with Mai's eyes?" she asked no one with a pitying sigh, dropping her head.

"Is that Oliver?" she wondered aloud, her eyes finally finding him in the grass, "Is he dead or maybe just sleeping. I don't see any blood or injuries so…" She dropped down beside him, shaking his shoulder lightly. "Oliver, if you're alive then wake up."

Naru's breathe hitched. His eyes grew wide as they found Masako. "I'd even run through fire if you told me to, Masako! I feel like Mother Nature has allowed me to see into your heart, as if by magic. Where is Yasu? Oh, I'd kill him if I could!" Naru declared, jumping to his feet.

Had Naru lost his mind?! What was this sudden jump of love from me to Masako?! Was this really how the play progressed or was Stephanie just having her fun with us? I didn't know if I really wanted to know.

"Don't say that, Oliver. Why do you even care that he loves Mai? What does it matter? Mai still loves you, so be happy," Masako tried to reason, standing and stepping away from Naru's searching glare.

Naru snorted in disgust. "Happy with Mai? No. I regret all the time that I wasted with her. I don't love Mai. I love you, Masako," he said. Even though I knew it was just his character's lines it still hurt to hear them. "Who wouldn't love a dove more than a crow? A man's desires are influenced by his logical mind, and it's logical that you're more worthy of love than Mai is. My sense of reason has not been mature until now. My logic now has more control over my desires, and it's telling me to look into your eyes, where I see every love story ever told."

Masako shook her head adamantly, anger and sorrow coating her next words. "Why does everyone always make fun of me? What have I done to deserve this kind of treatment from you? Isn't it enough that I'll never be pretty for Yasu to look at me? Do you have to make fun of me faults too? I thought you were much kinder than this. How awful that a lady who's already been rejected by one man should be treated horribly by another one!" she shouted at him before running off.

Naru was stunned for a second. "She didn't see Mai." He looked over at me quickly. "Mai, keep sleeping, and don't come near me ever again! People always hate the mistakes they made in the past more than anyone else. Mai, you're the mistake I used to make, and so hate you more than anyone else does." He turned away from me, following after Maskao. "I'll use all my talents and efforts to serve Masako and bring her honor."

I was finally able to move. I 'woke' with a start, clutching at the front of my dress. Despited the fact I knew it was a play, my heart still ached under the thin fabric. "Help me, Oliver! Get this snake off of my chest. Oh, my God! What a terrible dream I just had! Olive, I'm shaking with fear. I thought a snake was eating my heart while you sat smiling and watching." When Naru didn't answer I looked around in confusion. This acting thing was starting to really confuse me. "Oliver! What, is he gone? Oliver! Is he out of earshot? Gone? No answer? Where are you? Say something if you can hear me. Say something, please! I'm almost fainting." I stood and pretended to faint. Again, no answer. "Nothing? I guess I'll just have find you."

I ran and ran. At one point I ran past the clearing where Ayako slept. I slowed to a stop, listening to the conversation of the six person acting group that I'd passed earlier that day. I leaned around the tree, watching the chaos and Madoka having a good laugh in a tree.

The boy with shocking orange hair had just walked back in from the woods. He was speaking one of his lines for their play. "'If I were handsome, my lovely Thisbe, I would still want only you,'" he said, his head not the head of a man, but the head of a donkey now.

Gene stared wide-eyed at the sight of him. "Help! It's a monster! We're being haunted. Run, everyone, run!" he cried, scrambling away from the man. Oh, how ironic such a statement was for him.

"I'll follow you. I'll make you run around in circles, through bushes and woods and thorns. Maybe I'll take the shape of a horse and other times I'll take the shape of a hound or a pig or a headless bear! Sometimes I'll turn into fire! And I'll neigh like a horse and bark like a hound and grunt like a pig and roar like a bear and burn like a fire at every turn," Madoka said with a sadistic giggle.

"Why are they running away? This is just a joke to scare me, right?" the man wondered to himself, confused.

"Brian, you've changed! What have you got on your head?" a large man with a severe face shouted.

"What do you think I've got on my head? You know, you're kind of acting like an ass?" the red-head, Brian, asked not knowing how ironic that statement truly was.

Gene stepped in front of the other men and Jessica. "God bless you, Brian. You've been changed," Gene said earnestly.

Finally, they all ran past me and I followed after them. Brian stayed behind in the clearing with a waking Ayako. After a while of running, I changed direction. I passed by another clearing where Madoka was relaying her story of how Ayako was now in love with a donkey to Monk. She jumped around him excitedly.

Not wanting to hear any more long monologues that Madoka's character seemed to love, I kept moving. There was a noise beside me. I whipped my head around and found Naru stumbling out of the bushes. He was following a barely worn path. I followed after him.

He and Masako ripped through the trees into the clearing where Monk and Madoka stood. Yasuhara leaned against a tree, fast asleep. I only had enough time to see Monk straightening up with the flower clutched in his hand before Naru's line to Masako broke through my thoughts.

"Why do you think I'm making fun of you when I tell you I love you? People don't cry when they mock someone," Naru said earnestly, "Look, when I swear that I love you, I cry, and when someone cries while he's making a promise, he's usually telling the truth. How can you think I'm making fun of you, when my tears prove that I'm sincere?"

Masako glared angrily at him. "You get trickier and trickier. You've made the same promises to me and to Mai. They can't both be true! You're lying to both of us! The promises you're making to me belong to Mai. Are you just going to leave her? If you weighed the promises you made to me against the promises you made to her, they'd come out the same. They both weigh nothing. They're lies," she spat at him.

"I wasn't thinking clearly when I made those promises to her," he said, shaking his head.

Masako shook her own head in disbelief. "And you're not thinking clearly now either."

"Yasu loves her, but not you," Naru tried to reason. Only if he knew how wrong he truly was now.

…..

_There you have it. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too confusing. The next one will be up soon. Review please :D_

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**Give me hooooonnnoooorrrrr *grabs for honor***

**I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I just saw the word honor earlier on in the text and had to say something :P So, I'm starting to realize how much of a mistake this was, haha. I don't regret it though because this brought out a lot of what I needed in my story :P**


	10. Chapter 10: Cat and Dog Fighting

**EDIT: Yay! The last chapter that needs editing! I hope this venture of editing helped everyone understand more, haha. It was kinda fun, but I don't ever want to have to do it again :P**

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_I have to apologize to those of you who I have bored with my story because of the Shakespeare. It was the only way I could think of get rid of the ghost. Originally, I wasn't going to add this, but it was the only way I could introduce a very important character upon other things. The use for the story will become apparent soon. I'll wrap this whole play thing up in this chapter for those who are bored. Stick around or don't, it's your choice. Sorry again. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of Shakespeare's works. Conversations and quotes used from his works are purely NOT mine and only being used for the story._

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Chapter 10: Cat and Dog Fighting

Yasu's eyes started to flutter open and the first person he saw was none other than Masako. "Oh Masako, you goddess, you divine and perfect nymph! What can I compare your eyes to? Crystal isn't as clear as they are. Oh, your lips are as ripe as a pair of tempting cherries touching each other! The pure white of the snow on a mountaintop seems black as a crow's wing next to the whiteness of your hands. Let me kiss your beautiful white hand. It'll make me so happy!" Yasu declared.

I wanted to laugh hearing Yasu say those things. I knew that in real life he's still a romantic playboy, but this just seemed to be pushing it over the edge.

Masako stamped her feet in agitation and anger. "Damn it! I see you're all determined to gang up on me for a few laughs. You wouldn't be treating me like this if you had any manners. Can't you just hate me like I know you do? Do you have to get together to humiliate me? If you were real men you wouldn't treat me this way. You're competing for Mai's love, and now you're competing to see which one of you can make fun of me the most. That's a great idea, a really manly thing to do! Nobody respectable would do this just to have some fun," she shouted, tears springing to her eyes.

Naru turned on Yasu with a sneer. "Don't be cruel, Yasu. I know you love Mai, and you know that I know. Right here, right now, I'm giving up all my claims on her and handing her to you. In exchange, give up your claim to love Masako, since I love her and will love her until I die," he said.

Masako threw her hands up in exasperation. "So much trouble just to make fun of someone," she groaned. Neither of them was listening to her.

"You can keep Mai. I don't want her. If I ever loved her, it's gone now. That was only temporary. Now I love Masako," Yasu countered, grabbing Masako's hand.

"Helena, it's not true. He lies," Naru said, grabbing her other hand.

"Don't insult a deep love that you don't understand, or you'll pay the price," Yasu said, yanking her away and into his arms. He turned his head towards where Naru had come as I stepped out from behind my tree, "Oh look, **here** comes the woman you love."

"It's a lot easier to hear in the dark than it is to see," I called, rubbing at my eyes and stumbling over a stick hidden in the tall grass. I hurried over to Naru with a distressed expression. "I couldn't see you, but I heard you, and that's how I found you. Why did you leave me alone in the middle of the woods?"

Naru glared down at me. The glare he gave me had to be worse than the one he gave me when we first met. "Why should I stay when love told me to go?" he asked.

"But what love could make you leave me?" I asked despairingly, reaching out a hand.

He slapped my hand away, the crack of skin against skin echoing through the quiet forest. "I had to hurry to my love, Masako. Why are you looking for me? Didn't you figure out that I left you because I hate you?" he asked like I was stupid.

"You can't mean that. It's impossible," I said, clutching at my hand.

Masako scoffed. "So, you're in on this too! Now I see that all three of you have gotten together to play this cruel trick on me. Mai, you ungrateful girl, did you get these two to tease me? Have you forgotten all the talks we've had together, the vows we made to be like sisters to one another, all the hours we spent together, wishing that we never had to say goodbye, our friendship throughout school and our childhood innocence? We used to sit together and sew one flower with our two needles, singing one song in the same key, as if our hands, sides, voices and minds were stuck together. We grew together like twin cherries like we had two separate bodies, but one heart. Do you want to destroy all of that with these two? It's not friendly, and it's not ladylike. Every woman would be mad at you even if it only hurts me," Masako said almost all in one breath. Her eyes burned with anger. Her chest heaved, lungs hungry for air. Her fists balled up at her sides. She was pissed.

My mouth dropped open, dumbfounded. "I'm not insulting you. It sounds more like you're insulting me," I told her.

"Come on, stop playing dumb. Didn't you send Oliver to follow me around praising my eyes and my face? Didn't you get Yasu –who kicked me like an unwanted puppy- to call me a goddess and a divine, rare, heavenly being?" she asked with a roll of her eyes, "Why does he talk like that to a girl he can't stand? And why is Oliver saying he doesn't love you when he most certainly does? Why would he do that unless you told him to? Why does it matter that I'm not as lucky or lovable as you are and that my love is unrequited? You should pity me for that reason, not hate me."

I shook my head. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I told her truthfully.

Masako threw her hands up in defeat. "Oh, fine. All right, go ahead, keep up your little game, pretend to be sympathetic, but then wink at each other and snicker when I turn my back. Keep up your wonderful game. You're doing such a good job on this trick, someone should write a book about it. If you had any pity, or manners for that matter, you wouldn't pretend to fight over me like this. I guess it's partly my own fault since I followed you here. Leaving will soon take care of everything," she said in a defeated voice, turning to mope away with her wounded pride, but was stopped by Naru.

He snatched up both of her hands and stared at her with pleading eyes. "Stay, Masako. Listen to my excuse. My love, my life, my soul, beautiful Masako!"

Masako snorted. "That's a good one!" she said sarcastically.

I glared at Naru. "Oliver, don't insult her like that," I reprimanded.

Yasuhara turned to him next, "If Mai's begging can't make you stop then I can force you to do so."

Naru chuckled darkly, somehow finding amusement in this whole situation. "You can't force me any more than Mai can beg me. Your threats are no stronger than her whining," Naru shot at him before turning back to Masako, "Masako, I love you. I swear I do. I'll give my life for you, just to prove Yasu wrong when he says I don't love you."

"I'm telling you, I love you so much more than he does," Yasu said.

"If you say so, then duel me and prove it" Naru challenged.

Yasu motioned for him to attack him. "You're on."

After those words everything was a blur. Masako and I dissolved into a shouting match, calling each other childish names. The boys joined in the fight, defending Masako. Once the boys ran off, Masako and I glared, only exchanging a few words before following after them.

Madoka, on order from Monk, confused the boys until they passed out from exhaustion. Masako and I soon followed. In the coming dawn, Madoka put more of the flower's juices on Naru's eyes, making sure we were positioned so that he'd see me first when he woke. Monk, having gotten his revenge and John, broke the spell on Ayako and then woke her. Horrified and disgusted at having been in love with Brian the donkey, Ayako asked Monk to tell her what had happened overnight.

We, the teenagers, were awakened by Lin, Martin and Luella. After hearing our story of mixed-up and now corrected love Martin declared that we were to follow him to the temple to be married with him and Luella. The wedding and play passed in a flash followed by blackness.

When the ink cleared from my vision for I don't even know what time, we were all back in base still dressed in our Victorian-style clothing and robes.

…..

_I'm sorry if this chapter was absolutely horrible. I promise the next will be much much better. Sorry for the very quick and horrible wrap up of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Sorry to those who got bored or annoyed or confused, ect., by the random play. Sorry if you just hates the last few chapters all together. If you want more of the Shakespeare chapters, review and I'll post separate chapters._

…_.._

**So, I realize this was the worst of all the chapters due to the VERY speedy ending, but I was not feeling it by then. I don't do well with very harsh criticism which is really not a good thing seeing as I want to be a writer one day *sigh* Anyway, I hoped this cleared up a lot that was hard to understand through all the Shakespeare :P**


	11. Chapter 11: Surprise, Surprise

**Thank you to all of you who've read this story so far. Special thanks to Jade Starlight for the awesome review! You really made my day (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 11: Surprise, Surprise

I looked around, still on the floor. I groaned as I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. "Geez, it feels like I've been hit upside the head with a steel pipe," I grumbled, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes.

"Yeah, that's a side effect of the hypnotism, sorry 'bout that. You're honey bunny may be a little irritated for the next couple days and your teammates are going to be feeling it worse than you," said a cheerful voice in front of me.

I jerked my head up to find Stephanie sitting on the arm of the sofa. Her legs were crossed. Her hand cupped her chin with her elbow resting on her knee. A grin curved her lips.

"You were supposed to move on after this! Why are you still here?" I cried, struggling to my feet. I was sore all over the place.

Stephanie just grinned. "I want to see their faces when they wake up and watch this video," she said, patting the camera next to her.

"What?" I asked dumbly, looking between her and the camera.

"I videotaped the whole thing," she said in surprise, "I thought you would've realized that. You ran past the camera like six times." She tilted her head to the side slyly. Her grin resembled that of the Cheshire cat's. "Well, this one at least. I made good use of your honey bunny's meticulous set up of cameras and microphones."

I cricked my head to the side. I stared at the camera and the power cord leading out the door. I looked to the monitors and found them all transmitting images. "When the hell did he have time to set them up?" I cried and then narrowed my eyes at the monitors, "Did you move them?"

Stephanie made an indignant sound in the back of her throat. "Of course I didn't. I made King Oberon do it," she said, pointing at Monk.

I sighed. "One, his name is Monk, and two, Naru is going to ring your ghost neck because you moved him cameras," I told her with a shake of my head.

"It was all for the sake of the play," she said haughtily turning her eyes away from me with a smirk, "Oh look, their waking up."

Just then, I heard a groan from beside me. I jumped, turning to find Naru pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Oh god, Naru, are you alright?" I cried, grabbing his shoulder.

He turned his head slowly up at me. His eyes were narrowed in annoyance. "What?" he growled.

I recoiled a bit before going in head first. "I asked if you were okay," I told him.

"What the hell?" Ayako groaned followed by the rest of the team. Jessica and her acting group were nowhere to be seen. "Why do I have a hangover?" she grumbled, sitting up and letting her head slump against the couch.

"You're not the only one," Masako growled, "What are you wearing?" She raised an eyebrow at Ayako's attire.

"What am I wearing? What are all of you wearing?" Ayako asked, holding back her laughter as her eyes scanned over everyone. Her eyes landed on Naru and me, a knowing grin spreading across her face.

Knowing my ass.

"You guys look ridiculous," I told them with a grin, helping Naru sit up. His eyes were narrowed in pain. He slipped his head between his knees, ignoring our useless conversations. "You guys look even more ridiculous in the video." I looked towards the monitors. Though I hadn't actually watched the video yet, I knew it would be absolutely hilarious.

Their eyes widened. "What video?" they all asked in unison.

"What one do you think?" I asked, jerking my thumb over my shoulder to the monitors.

Lin was already at the monitors, rewinding the video to nearly a day ago. We all watched as a camera was moved around to face into the base. We were all in there, even Monk, and we had all just passed out. I gave Stephanie the 'you lied' look. She just shrugged, smirked, and pointed to the monitors. The team had crowded around the table with all the monitors in it. Even Naru was peeking out from under his leg to watch the show.

We watched Stephanie appear with the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' book in her hand. She pointed to everyone in turn, appointing them a role. Ayako and Masako gasped in horror when they heard their roles.

"Oh no, I'm so embarrassed and it hasn't even started," Masako mumbled into her hands, hiding her blushing cheeks.

"You're embarrassed? I have to be lovey-dovey with a donkey!" Ayako shouted, turning her glare on Monk, "And it's all your fault!"

Monk was clutching at him stomach in laughter. "It's not my fault," he defended through gasps for air, "It's my character's fault."

"Same difference!" Ayako cried.

"Shh!" Yasu hissed, staring intently at the screens.

After Stephanie had finished dishing out the parts the camera went black. When it came back on it was pointing down the hallway where Luella and Martin were walking down. Naru's eyebrows disappeared below his low hanging bangs when the camera turned to point at Naru and I holding hands.

The whole team oohed like grade-schoolers except for Lin and Naru. When he thought I wasn't looking, he peeked at me from under his bangs giving me contemplative look. I blushed, staring at the screens.

I mostly tuned the video out, only paying attention when it came to a part I had blacked out during though the whole time I could hear Stephanie laughing her ass off behind us. When her laughter suddenly increased to its loudest I knew something that was probably going to embarrass us for the rest of our lives was about to play.

It was the end of the play within a play, something I vaguely remembered, and we were all off to bed. We watched Ayako and Monk dance hand in hand around the house, which was hilarious in and of itself. The people from Jessica's acting group who were fairies danced from room to room.

They passed first through Yasu and Masako's room where they were already falling fast asleep in each other's arms. Next was Martin and Luella's room where they shared a glass of wine while slowly dancing. Last was Naru's and my room. We were wrapped in each other's arms, staring at the ceiling and rubbing patterns into each other's bear shoulders.

Madoka launched into her soliloquy as she walked through the house. When the screens went black the room was completely silent. Stephanie burst out laughing just everyone whipped around to stare at Naru and me.

I stared wide-eyed back, stumbling over my words like a new born puppy. "I-I d-d-don't know what that was! W-what was it?" I cried.

"What was it? It was you and Naru naked in a bed!" Monk cried, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

"Because we were hypnotized! Stephanie, I'm going to kill you for that!" I shouted, my cheeks the color of ripe tomatoes. I swung around, staring at her with a glare that promised revenge.

"Sorry honey, someone already beat you to it," she said with a teasing grin, "You might wanna get her outa here. It's late anyway, and you two might get attacked if you stay here much longer. But you know, that might happen to her anyway." She was staring at Naru and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

As everyone started to advance on us Naru grabbed my hand and started pulling out the door. "You got what you wanted Stephanie, it's time to move on!" I shouted at her before we were out the door.

"Not everything and I'm not leaving until I've fulfilled this new found wish," she replied as we disappeared down the hall.

**Well, there you go. I know this chapter was kinda really late, but I got a new puppy and I was having a hard time thinking of how to end this chapter. I know Naru is a bit OOC, but I still hope you liked this chapter. I sure had a lot of fun writing it, review please :D**


	12. Chapter 12: Wrong and Stupid

**Happy (late) New Year! Isn't it funny that I started this story for Christmas, but we're already in 2012, sorry 'bout that. I hope you're liking the story through :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 12: Wrong and Stupid

It wasn't long before we reached our room. Naru shoved me through the doorway, slamming the door behind him and locking it. We heard the audible slap as Monk and Ayako, in the lead of our hunters, slammed into the door.

"This is crazy," I gasped, slumping to the floor in a heap.

Naru breathed heavily, resting against the door. He stared at me with indecisive eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked, breathing just as heavily as he was. I attempted to standup, but just hit the floor again. "I need to take a shower and then go on a witch hunt for a ghost and a supposed to be dead boy."

"It's elven. I'll help you with the latter tomorrow morning," Naru growled the anger that he was actually feeling seeping into his voice even though his face was blank. Yep, I knew it. He was just as pissed as I was about Gene not telling us. That boy might actually be dead in the next few hours.

I left out a long suffering sigh, contemplating my options. Go to bed now, wake up sooner to kill Gene? Take a shower now, wake up later, but more refreshed? I pursed my lips, considering before I picked.

"I'm going to take a bath," I mumbled, grabbing my suitcase and towel.

"Fine," Naru said, grabbing his own suitcase. He was already throwing off the Victorian suit-jacket and button up shirt when I closed the door.

"You guys are as cold as ever," Stephanie sighed from the other side of the large old-fashioned tub. Her hair was curled in a messy bun and her shoulders were bare.

I had just slipped into the warm, bubbly water and would have jumped, but her random appearances weren't so surprising anymore. "Why should that be disappointing?" I asked with a bored tone.

"But I've been trying so hard. Putting you guys in that play wasn't just for fun you know," I said, faking scooping up the water and rubbing it down her arm.

"It sure seemed like it with how much you were laughing," I pouted, crossing my arms and sinking lower into the water.

Stephanie grinned, moving through the water to settle next to me. "Don't pout. You know you liked being fawned over by him. I did see your _little _kiss in the closet you know." She waggled her eyebrows at me.

A blush spread across my cheeks, but I stayed quiet. She was absolutely right. I'd actually loved getting doted on by Naru. Having Yasu falling all over me was admittedly less than fun. I frowned into the water, making bubbles.

"Come on, just admit it, you love him," she said, punching me in the arm. Her fist went through my arm leaving the spot icy even in the warm water.

"I can't. He doesn't feel the same way," I mumbled dejectedly.

Stephanie scrunched up her face at me. "You have no idea how he looks at you do you?" she asked, staring at me.

"He doesn't look at me in any way. He told me I loved his twin brother!" I shouted in a whisper so that Naru couldn't hear me. I really didn't care if he could hear our conversation, but he didn't need to hear this. "He obviously doesn't have feelings for me!"

Stephanie burst into laughter. "Gene was right, you two are so dense! Ask him! Ask him when you get out of the bath!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, making sure Naru could hear her through the bathroom door before disappearing.

I stared wide-eyed at the spot where she had disappeared. I took a huge breath, slid under the water and screamed myself hoarse. I resurfaced, sputtering. It was silent for a long moment then I heard quiet conversation filtering under the door. I could only make out a few words from Naru every now and then, but the second voice was all mumbles.

With a sigh, I pushed myself out of the cooled water and wrapped myself in a towel. I really didn't want to go out and have to sleep next to Naru after that conversation.

My eyes widened as this revelation came over me. I was going to be sleeping in the same bed as Naru! My head started to spin. I dropped my head between my knees before I passed out. Was I even going to get any sleep tonight? I highly doubted it.

I took a deep breath. It was time to grow a pair of ovaries. "Yeah, let's go!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. I pulled on my pajamas, an over-sized T-shirt and pajama pants. With one last steadying breath, I opened the door and peeked out.

A bedside lamp was still on, but Naru had fallen asleep. He was sitting up in the bed, a book open on his lap. His head rested on his chest like he'd been looking down at the something that was clutched in his hand.

I tip-toed over to him looking down at what he held. He was holding a picture of two young boys that were about ten-years-old. The both had jet black hair and deep, navy blue eyes. The one wearing a bright green shirt was smiling. The one wearing black from head to toe was glaring at the camera. The glaring one was giving the smiling one a piggy-back ride.

It must have been Naru and Gene when they were young. Naru had given me another picture of when they were younger that had made its home on my nightstand.

I wiggled the picture from his fingers. "Just as handsome as they were young as they are as teenagers," I murmured, smiling as I compared the older and younger version of Naru. It seemed like nothing had changed, "Nope, nothing at all."

"What are you talking about?" Naru asked groggily, making me jump about ten feet into the air.

"Nothing," I said too quickly, hiding the picture behind me back.

Naru stared at me like I was mentally unstable. "Mai, I know you're hiding the picture behind your back," he said, closing his book and setting it aside.

"Sorry, I was just looking at it," I said, handing it back to him. I rocked back on my heels, refusing to meet his eyes.

Naru took the picture, staring down at it for a long moment. He moved his eyes to me, sighed, and moved to the other side of the bed. "Hurry up and turn off the light. We have a lot to do tomorrow," he ordered, leaving the covers flipped back for me.

"Yeah, cleaning up Stephanie's mess," I said, grinning as I slid under the covers. I snapped off the light and slid deeper under the covers. An uncomfortable silence filled the room until Naru finally said something.

"I heard you and Stephanie talking in the bathroom," Naru murmured, his back to me.

I stiffened. "What did you hear?" I asked cautiously.

"Something about us being cold, to ask someone something and that Gene knows that we're apparently dense," he told me, turning to stay at me in the gloom. I just hoped he couldn't see the deep red blush coating my cheeks.

I giggled nervously. "Oh really? Yeah, she's kind of crazy. I have no idea what she was talking about," I mumbled, averting my eyes.

He gave me an appraising look. He moved his eyes to the ceiling as he muttered mostly to himself, "That means that Gene is really still alive. For the past two years I've been searching for his body when he's been alive this whole time. I'm going to kill him for this."

"I know what you mean," I told him with a grin, "I feel the same way."

Naru looked at me again. "Do you…still love my brother?" Naru asked slowly, testing the words.

I gasped. Did I hear his right? He'd really just asked me that? "Naru, I don't love Gene. I like Gene, he's like a brother to me, but I love…" I said, stopping to swallow down the lump that was building in my throat, "But I **still** love you. I never loved Gene romantically, it was always you." Reaching out a hesitant hand, I took Naru's.

Naru closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Stephanie told me I was wrong and stupid. I guess she was right," he told me.

"I thought I'd never see the day when the world's biggest narcissist admits he was wrong and stupid," I said with a huge smile.

Naru pushed himself up on his elbow. "I thought I'd never see the day when I'd be able to do this," he said, leaning in and pressing his lips to mine.

**There you go. I know this chapter could have been better and that Naru was a bit OOC, but I hope you liked it all together. Review please :D**


	13. Chapter 13: A Very Merry Christmas

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 13: A Very Merry Christmas

"Mai-chan, Naru-chan, get your lazy asses up!" someone shouted right above us, "You do know what day it is, right?" A banging on our door swiftly followed the shouting. I think they were attempting to break down the door.

We jerked awake, sitting bolt upright. I was wrapped around Naru, my legs tangled with his and the comforter. I stared up at the person who had yelled with sleep clouded eyes. Stephanie floated above us with a knowing grin.

"What the hell Stephanie?" I grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Get up, get up! It's Christmas! I have one of the best Christmas gifts for you two ever!" she cried, grinning from ear to ear, "Well, besides the one you got last night." She waggled her eyebrows at me, giving me a knowing grin.

I glanced away, blushing crimson. "Shut up," I muttered.

Before Stephanie could reply with a smart remark the banging started again. "Get up you two! It's Christmas and we're having a party in base right now! Get up!" someone shouted from outside the door. It sounded like Monk.

Naru growled, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"Yeah, either come out now or we're coming in!" Yasu yelled next followed by Ayako's approval.

I looked to Naru with wide-eyes. We jumped from the bed, throwing our suitcases onto the bed. I rifled through my clothes pulling on the first suitable thing I found, a green dress with a red sash and red trimming. "I just realized I brought my Christmas dress with me. I didn't even remember that I packed it," I said, holding out the skirt of the dress to stare down at it.

"You look pretty!" Stephanie crowed. She turned her eyes to Naru silently urging him.

Naru caught the look she was giving him. "Yes, you look very pretty," he murmured, his arms crossed and his hands cupping his elbows.

I grinned, happiness filling me.

"We're coming in!" Monk shouted in a singsong, breaking down the door. The smile fell from his face when he found us just sitting on the bed. Naru had a book open on his leg, his suitcase already back under the bed. I was sitting cross-legged in front of my suitcase putting my clothes away neatly. "Damn, I was hoping to find you guys making-out. You guys suck."

"Didn't I already tell you to get your own sex life?" Naru asked bluntly, making me laugh.

"Didn't I already tell you that I have a bigger sex life than you?" Monk countered.

Naru and I glanced at each other. I started laughing even harder and Naru said, "I wouldn't be so sure of that anymore."

Monk, Yasu and Ayako tilted their heads to the right looking like a bunch of confused dogs. "What?" Monk asked, but Naru was already down the hall.

I chased after him, sticking my tongue out at the confused group. I bounced down the hall next to Naru. Though I didn't really know why, I was excited to the tenth degree.

Naru gave an exasperated sigh as we reached base. "Mai, calm down…" Naru started to say as he pulled the door open, but a very familiar voice cut him off.

"Aw, but I thought you loved her enthusiasm. It's so cute," the voice said. We stopped mid-step, staring at each other. Slowly, we turned our eyes to gaze in at the person.

In the over-stuffed armchair, a boy clad in black from head to toe with jet black hair and navy blue eyes sat. Stephanie popped up above the boy with a huge grin splitting her face. "Merry Christmas!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air, "Well, looks like my job is done here. See you guys in another lifetime!" And with that she disappeared in a shower of golden light.

Silence crept inconspicuously into the room. It settled in the middle of the floor, looking from the boy to Naru and me. I was the one to finally scare it away.

"G-Gene. Gene!" I shouted, a wide grin splitting my face. I ran over to him, throwing myself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around me just as I slammed a fist into his stomach.

He bent over in pain, coughing. "What was that for?" he asked, a pained smile growing on his face, "That really hurt you know?"

"And this is going to hurt even more," Naru growled. Gene looked up just in time to get punched in the jaw.

He flew back into the chair, knocking it sideways. "I guess I should have seen that coming," Gene muttered, rubbing his jaw where a dark bruise was already forming, "But honestly, did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Yes," Naru answered with a blank face.

"You jerk!" I yelled, stamping my foot in anger, "Why didn't you tell us? Why did you leave me to figure out this case's dreams on my own? What is wrong with you? You are such a jerk!" Angry tears streamed down my face.

Gene grinned. He pulled me into a tight hug. "Sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you guys. I've been getting used to it myself you know? For the past two and a half years I thought I was dead," he told me, grinning into my hair, "Sorry 'bout that you two." He let go of me and pulled his reluctant twin into a tight hug.

The rest of the team plus Jessica and Damien skidded to a halt in the doorway just as Gene pulled me into the hug so that I was squished between his and Naru's chests. I giggled as I wrapped my arms around Naru's waist.

"Whoa! There's two Narus!" Yasu cried, staring at the Mai sandwich.

Damien grinned. "Hey, Eugene, you never told us you had a twin," he called, walking quickly over to us, "I think you're killing my best friend." He pointed to me where I was peeking out from a tangle of arms.

"Sorry 'bout that. I never expected him to actually come here one day," Gene said with a grin, letting Naru go and clapping Damien on the back, "Have anything special planned for Christmas day?"

"Not really. Mess around all day and eat till I drop," Damien said with a shrug, "Play some tricks on my favorite person." He pinched my cheek affectionately.

Naru grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. I laughed as we fell back into the couch.

"Oo, looks like my brother's getting a bit defensive. Someone's in love. Someone's in love," Gene sang dancing around.

"Okay, now that is just weird. Does anyone else find it creepy to see those expressions on a face identical to Naru's and Naru's voice saying those words?" Monk asked, holding his hands out. The rest of the team nodded.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad," Gene reasoned, "Just think of us as two different people. P.S.- Noll, Mom and Dad went shopping, they'll be back soon."

"What?" Naru asked, "You're joking right?"

Gene shook his head. "Nope, I'm completely serious," he told Naru with a grin.

I shook my head. Naru's fear of his parents was completely irrational. Though I'd never met them I'm sure they were wonderful people. They had to be to be able to raise both Naru and Gene.

My eyes strayed from the bickering twins to the window. The curtains were pulled back letting the grey winter light filter through into the room. My eyes drifted in and out of focus trying to make sense of the wide down falling from the sky. My eyes focused again and what the white stuff was finally clicked in my mind.

I rocketed up from Naru's lap, lunging for the window. Naru's arms were still my waist so he had to follow me. "It's snowing!" I shouted happily, jumping up and down.

**There you go. Hope you liked this chapter. Review please :D**


	14. Chapter 14: Snow and Presents

**This is the last chapter. Hope you like it :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 14: Snow and Presents

"You're right!" Damien cried, hurrying over to the window along with Masako, Yasu, Monk, John and Ayako. Naru stood behind me, looking down on the lawn where the green was quickly being consumed by white. Gene stood next to Naru and me, leaning around the edge of the window to look out as well.

I turned to Naru with a huge grin. "Let's go play," I said excitedly, wiggling in his arms.

"Yeah!" everyone shouted with the same level of enthusiasm.

Naru was opening his mouth to say something when a surly Madoka stomped into base. She plopped down on one of the computer chairs. She crossed her legs and tapped her foot like she'd drunk ten cups of coffee, scowling at the wall. Lin soon followed. He sighed when he saw Madoka's mood and took a seat next to her.

"What's wrong, Madoka?" I started to ask, but she held up a hand to stop me.

"Don't talk to me," she snarled, "Nobody talk to me."

We all glanced at each other, wonder what to do next. "Let's go outside," Naru decided, not wanting to be anywhere near a moody Madoka. That was simply a recipe for disaster.

Jessica laughed, looking at Madoka. "I'll stay here you guys. I think I know what might make Madoka feel better. Lin, you can come too and learn my ways," she said, winking at him, laughing, taking Madoka's hand, and pulled her out of the room. Lin jumped up almost eagerly, following the two.

We were silent for the space of a heartbeat. I jumped from Naru's arms, running to the door. I stopped in the doorway, spinning on my heel to face the others with a grin. "Race you guys," I said before darting back out the door.

The others scrambled to get out the door and down the hall. I sprinted down the hall, heading for my bedroom. I absolutely refused to go outside in a thin dress like this. The others seemed to have the same idea because they were following me. We were all down the same hallway.

I burst through my bedroom door. I still had my clothes spread across the bed. I jerked on the first thing I grabbed, one of my only pair of boot-cut jeans. I was just ripping my dress off when Gene and Naru skidded to a halt in front of the open door.

"Mai! Close the door if you're changing!" Gene shouted, slamming his hands over his eyes. Naru looked over at his brother with a smirk before leaning against the door jam.

I raised an eyebrow at the two. "Whatever," I told him with a grin, pulling my shirt over my head and slipping into my jacket, gloves, boots and hat.

Gene peeked through his fingers at Naru's smirk and my indifference, a calculating looking filling his eyes. His jaws dropped and his eyes went wide. "Good lord, you guys have had-!" he started to yell, but Naru and I slammed our hands over his mouth before he could say anymore. He finished his sentence in a muffle.

"Don't yell stuff like that!" I hissed, my cheeks flaring scarlet.

Gene pulled our hands away. "I was right!" he cooed, "Looks like it's my turn."

"You're turn for what?" I asked just as Gene threw me over his shoulder and started running down the hall.

"Gene!" Naru yelled, chasing after Gene maniacal laughter.

"She's on my team little brother!" he shouted over the shoulder I was not riding on, "You have to beat us at a snowball fight for me to give up on her!"

The others darted out of their bedrooms, stunned as we sped past. Monk jumped back as we zoomed past his door. "Monk, save me! I'm being kidnapped by a madman!" I cried, reaching out for him with a laugh.

"I'll save you my daughter!" he shouted back, running after me. He fell into step next to Naru, clapping him on the shoulder, "Looks like you and me are a team."

"I call Yasu!" Damien shouted, throwing his arm around Yasu's neck.

Ayako made an indignant sound. "Then I call John and Masako!" she called, following us. She was still in her long red skirt and coat, but black tights covered her long legs. She hurried after us, her high-heeled boots slightly hindering her progress. Masako and John dropped back to step with her, but paced her.

Gene and I burst through the front door. A gust of snow turned my nose to ice, but Gene persevered. He headed into the snow head first, dropping us behind a mound of snow. "I've devised a plan," he whispered to me, watching the door, "We'll double team Noll and then get Monk when he's down."

"Good plan," I murmured to him, balling up some snow.

After a moment of waiting, we saw a long-fingered hand close to the bottom of the door reach around the opening and grab some snow. It drew back in in a flash before we could attack it. Ayako looked around the door, trying to spot us, but we were well hidden beneath a tree. Gene launched one at her hitting her square in the face.

We heard her give an indignant cry and draw back. Monk ran out, throwing himself to the ground. He army crawled over to a nearby tree, ducking behind it. Naru followed soon after, finding his own cover behind a snow bank. John and Masako leaned around the doorway, darting towards the trees.

Gene and I open fired.

Masako let out a giggly-scream, ducking behind John. He bent quickly, grabbing some snow only to be knocked flat on his butt by a snowball to the face. That one was from Monk. We heard him cackle from his tree.

Snowballs rained down over us from Naru's hiding place. I let out a cry, rolling away from the spot and standing behind a tree. When I looked back Gene had disappeared. I looked around the tree, firing at Monk who was also leaning around a tree. I got him in the face. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gene storming Naru.

I laughed, throwing another snowball and accidently getting Ayako in the chest. She let out a war cry, running out the door towards me. She got hit in the back of the head next making her fall flat on her face.

"Good going Damien!" I shouted over his and Yasu's guffaws.

"You're going to pay for that!" Ayako yelled, turning on the boys and getting Yasu on the inside of his leg.

"Way to close for comfort!" he cried, ducking behind the wall again. That was when Monk decided to join in the barrage. He ran from his hiding place crushing a ball of snow over her head and making her yowl like a wet cat. She grabbed a bunch of snow and stuffed it up Monk's shirt.

Masako and John took their chance, scrambling for cover. I took my chance and ran for Naru and Gene. I jumped at the wrestling, laughing brother landing on someone's back. I stole a page from Ayako's book and stuffed snow down the person's shirt.

The twin rolled of the other, taking me with them and pinning me to the ground. "That was very cold," Naru said coolly.

"I know it was," I said with a grin. Wrapping my leg around his waist, I flipped us and stuffed more snow down his shirt.

"You're going to regret that," Naru warned.

I danced away from him with a grin. "Catch me if you can," I said in a singsong voice, throwing a snowball at him just as two hit me in the side of the head in quick succession.

"Yes! Got her!" I heard Damien shout followed by Monk. Skin slapped against skin and I knew they had given each other a high-five.

Naru grabbed me around the waist as a snowball hit him in the back and threw me over his shoulder. "I win!" he yelled at Gene, turning and sticking his tongue out at Gene.

"Aw man!" he shouted good-naturedly, throwing another snowball and hitting me in the butt.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing those!" I shouted, trying to glare over Naru's head.

I heard laughing from where the rest of the team was and a scream from Masako. "That's cold!" she screamed followed by Yasu's laughter.

"Look, the team is playing," I heard Luella's voice say from somewhere to my side. All shouting and laughing ceased instantly. I craned my neck to see her and almost got dropped as Naru slipped in the snow.

"Whoa!" I cried, landing chest to chest with him. Our faces were only inches apart.

"How cute, our son's a klutz," Luella cooed, walking up to us with several bags hanging off of their arms. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. They stared at Martin and Luella for the space of a heartbeat before rushing into the house.

Naru sat up with me on his chest and stood up with the help of Gene. "No, there was just ice and some weight on his shoulder," Gene said with a grin.

"Are you calling me fat? You better watch it bucko," I said, poking Gene in the chest.

"I'd never even dare," Gene said with a liar's smile.

Martin chuckled. "Let's get inside and get some tea into you guys. We have presents for everyone."

"Oh! I do too!" I cried, jumping up and down. I grabbed both Naru's and Gene's sleeve, dragging them back into the house.

…..

We were all sitting in base now, changed into dry and warm clothes. A cup of steaming tea sat in our hands. Luella and Martin sat on the couch. A more calmed Madoka lounged in one of the computer chairs next to Lin and Jessica. Yasu and Masako claimed the armchair. Ayako, Monk and John claimed the other couch. And Naru, Gene and I claimed the floor. I myself had a pile of presents in front of me waiting to get passed out.

"Now that we're all here, here you go," Luella chirped. She rummaged through the back, tossing the first present at Lin. "That's a joint present for both you and Madoka."

Lin opened it and found a baby's outfit that could have suited either a boy or a girl. "Thank you Luella, it's so cute," Madoka said in her usual voice though it was a bit sedated. The rest of us stared at them in confusion.

"She's pregnant," Ayako said, coming to the conclusion before anyone else. We all yelled our congratulations as Luella kept handing out the gifts.

Next she tossed a bag of holiday candy to both Jessica and Damien who smiled and thanked her. She threw a small box to John, Monk, and Yasu. She passed bigger boxes to Masako, Ayako, Gene and me. Last she handed Naru a slender package.

We all tore the wrapping off our packages. Masako, Ayako, Gene and I all pulled brand-new scarfs out of our boxes. They were in different colors and were soft as a newborn baby kitten. Ayako's was red, Masako's was pink, Gene's was dark blue and mine was a dark purple.

John, Monk, and Yasu pulled small souvenirs out of their boxes. Yasu had an owl with large, beer bottle glasses. Monk had a kitten that bobbed its head stupidly, making him laugh. And John had a turtle that smiled leeringly up at him. He fought not to laugh.

"What'd you get?" I asked, looking over Naru's shoulder as he dropped his head into his hand and shook it. What I saw made me laugh out loud. He held a book that was titled "How to Create a Successful Relationship". I giggled, burying my face in his shirt sleeve to smother my laughter.

Naru glared down at me. "Didn't you have something for everyone too?" he asked cooly.

I snickered. "Yep, yep." I grabbed my presents and started to toss them to each person. I tossed Ayako, Masako, John, and Lin kind of small boxes. I gave Naru two medium size square boxes. I passed Madoka a thin box and Yasu a slender package. I tossed a cookie tin at Monk and Gene. "Sorry Jessica, Damien, Luella, Martin. I wasn't expecting you two. I had a feeling about Madoka and Gene, but not everyone else. Sorry," I said.

"It's fine, it's fine," they said, waving me away.

The others quickly opened their presents. Masako 'oohed' at the little flower necklaces that was in her box. "It's so cute!" Ayako crowed as she pulled a silvery-red blouse from her box.

John smiled. "Thank you Mai," he said as he pulled the silver cross on a green ribbon from his box.

"You're welcome," I told him with a grin. Lin pulled out a pair of warm, wooly, black gloves. He gave me a nod of appreciation and I gave him a grin.

Monk and Gene mumbled something at me, spewing cookie crumbs everywhere. "Um, I'm just going to say thank you and you're welcome," I said raising my eyebrow at him. They grinned around a mouthful of cookies.

Madoka grinned as she opened up the box. "You're such a good little psychic Mai. Are you saying something to me?" she asked as she held up another baby outfit that was pink.

I grinned. "I don't know. I just had a feeling you would need it," I told her.

"Well thank you," she told me.

Yasu's laugh made me jump as I turned to him. "Where the hell did you find this?" he asked, holding up the book for everyone to see. It was titled 'Sarcasm for the Sarcastic'.

"In a used bookstore. I thought you'd appreciate it," I told him.

"Hell yeah," he told me.

"Hey, Noll, what'd you get?" Gene asked around a mouthful of cookies. He was leaning around me to look in his boxes.

He held up a jar of homemade tea and a scarf. The scarf was grey with ghost green at the end. On the end a cute little cartoon ghost was sown in. "These he said."

I giggled. "Isn't it cute?" I asked, wrapping the scarf around his neck, "I thought these would fit him best."

Everyone laughed, calling, "They do!"

"Kiss her," Gene stage whispered and then said loudly and dramatically, "Naru, don't you have a Christmas present for Mai?"

Naru cut Gene a glare before looking at me. "Merry Christmas, Mai," he said, grabbing my chin.

"Merry Christmas," I said just as he pressed his lips to mine.

THE END

**Hope you liked it. There may be a sequel, there may not be. Review please :D**


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